[2015] Western Love

by Christian Michael

  “If you come to that wedding tomorrow, I will have you arrested on the spot. Like I said, nobody is going to ruin tomorrow for me. Nobody!”

  With that, Mrs. Grendal turned on her heel, and walked away, leaving June standing on the street, feeling humiliated. June felt her breath catch in her throat, and she gasped to keep herself under control. She wanted to cry, and yell, and tell Mrs. Grendal she couldn’t arrest her, as she had done nothing wrong.

  That’s just it. I haven’t done anything, so what is she going to arrest me for? You can’t arrest someone for going to an open wedding, and you can’t arrest someone for speaking their mind. I am going to that wedding tomorrow no matter what.

  June tied her broach up against her throat, and looked at herself in the mirror. She had spent a sleepless night tossing and turning in her bed, wondering what she was going to say to Jacob. She worried about what would happen when she reached the chapel, but she reassured herself that she couldn’t be arrested.

  June had gone to the chapel the night before to see when the wedding was to be, and learned it was going to take place at two o’clock that afternoon. She could hear the clock on the bank down the street chime the noon announcement, and she felt butterflies form in her stomach.

  I can do this. I’m not going to let some crazy old woman scare me off. I’ve come clear across the country. Nobody is going to turn me back now!

  June finished buttoning her long, maroon dress, and gave herself a final look over in the mirror. She didn’t think she stood out from the crowd too much. All of these people had money, and though she didn’t think she had as much money as they did, she knew she held her own in the group.

  When the time drew near for the wedding, June made her way down to the street. She scanned the people on the walkway as well as in the street itself, but she didn’t see any faces she recognized… or the sheriff.

  Stop it. You aren’t doing anything wrong, and you can’t get arrested for it. Just stay calm, and act like you know what you are doing.

  June slowly made her way towards the chapel. There were people all over the street, going both towards and away from the chapel. June still didn’t see Mrs. Grendal, but she kept an eye out nonetheless. She settled in behind a small group of young women all heading for the church at the same time.

  It was easy to slip inside with the group, they were all talking amongst themselves and didn’t pay any attention to her. There wasn’t anyone at the door to greet them, so June simply walked in and sat down in the pew. There were people all over inside the church, some looking as though they were there to admire, and others helping set the place up.

  You should try to talk to someone. Sitting here all by yourself is a sure giveaway you weren’t invited.

  June scanned the room, looking for someone who looked friendly. The problem was, she wasn’t sure who was there for Jacob, and who was there for his bride. Perhaps that crazy old woman had even told people to watch out for her and send her away.

  Thankfully, more people started filing in and sitting down, so June felt as though she fit in more. She tried to stay calm, and rehearse what she was going to say to Jacob, but nothing seemed to be good enough.

  I guess you will just have to say what comes to mind when it happens… if it happens. Who am I kidding? You could very well lose your nerve when he walks in… or when she does.

  June could feel her nerves getting the best of her, but she told herself to stay strong. In just a few minutes, the wedding would begin, and June would make her move. Suddenly, the organ started playing, and June felt her stomach flop around inside of her.

  It was now or never.

  Chapter 8 – A Wedding Intervened

  June was so nervous she felt sick as the progression started. She almost lost her nerve and ran out of the chapel, but suddenly, Jacob appeared. He looked so refined, and so elegant in his suit. The sight of him was enough to strengthen her resolve and keep her in her place.

  June didn’t know what she was going to say or do, but she knew there was no way she was going to leave without saying what she wanted to say. She was just on the verge of standing up and calling out his name, when the bride appeared. All of the company rose, and June bit her tongue as the bride took her place in front of Jacob.

  June didn’t think, she couldn’t leave any time for it. Before anything else happened, she was going to say her piece. She pushed her way into the aisle, and tried to run to the front. Before anything could happen, she felt a hand fall on her shoulder.

  She turned to see who it was, and to her horror, the sheriff had his hand on her shoulder.

  “I am sorry, but I am afraid I have to ask you to leave.”

  June yanked away, and tried to make her way up the aisle, but she was pulled further away. All she could think to do was yell, so she called out as loud as she could.

  “Jacob! Jacob!”

  “Quiet! Remove this nuisance from the wedding!”

  Mrs. Grendal stood forward, and started coming down the stairs toward her. June kept yelling, but she was being pulled away. Suddenly, there was another voice that rose above the rest, it was Jacob’s.

  “Jacob! What is this?”

  Jacob ignored the protests and walked down the aisle. June pulled away from the sheriff, and stood in front of Jacob.

  “Jacob, I just want to say something to you. All I want you to do is listen, and when I am done, you can tell me how you feel about it.”

  She waited, and Jacob nodded.

  “Since that few minutes we spent together, you are all I have been thinking about. I have never felt this way about anyone, I have never loved before, and I love you. I think it is silly and foolish for us to marry people we are supposed to marry, when we don’t care for them. I care for you, and I want to be your bride.”

  She wanted to continue, but nothing was coming out. She wanted to keep telling him how much she cared about him, and how she wanted to be with him. She wanted to prove to him that she would be a better wife for him than this other girl whom he didn’t care for.

  He put his finger to her lips, and brushed the tear from her cheek. June didn’t even realize she was crying before he did that, but now that he did, she felt so at home, and like this was so right.

  “Jacob!”

  Jacob turned and held up his hand, then turned to address the entire crowd.

  “My family, and my friends, I have some news to meet. You are now seeing for the first time in my life a woman who loves me. Giselle…”

  He turned to face the bride at the altar.

  “I am sorry I brought you all the way up here to tell you I can’t marry you. You look lovely in your dress, and I can’t tell you how much I wish you are going to be happy with whoever you marry, but I can’t marry you.”

  Giselle opened her mouth, then shut it and stormed out. Her mother yelled how she couldn’t believe Jacob or how he could do this to her and her family, but Jacob didn’t care. He scooped June up in his arms and held her close.

  “I have to tell you something. Since the day I left you on that platform, you are all I have been able to think about as well. I wondered what it would be like to be married to a woman that cared about me, and one that was willing to think for herself and make her own decisions.

  I wished there was a way I could see you again, but I figured you were gone. You were going to marry the man you were set to marry, and he was going to be the luckiest man in the world.”

  June could feel the tears rushing down her face the more Jacob spoke, and she was so happy she had made the decision to come this far. Yes, it had been crazy, and yes, she knew she would shock her parents and her friends with what she did, but she didn’t care. She had found the man she was going to marry, and she loved him.

  For the first time in her life, she was truly happy, and she couldn’t wait until the next day. From now on, her life was going to be happy and exciting. There was going to be a reason for her to wake up and a reason for her to get dressed. She wasn’t goi
ng to be a picture for the family, she was going to be part of her own family.

  Never before did June expect to fall in love with the person she was going to marry, and there was nothing in the world that could compare to it.

  Finally, her life was complete.

  THE END.

  A Widow’s Love

  Mail Order Bride

  CHRISTIAN MICHAEL

  Chapter 1 – A Crazy Idea

  “Pa! Pa! Save me! Pa!”

  Grace ran into the room to quiet her child. He was thrashing about on the bed, wrestling in his blankets and wrapped up with one of his pillows.

  “Sh! Sh! There, there now… it’s okay. You were having a nightmare, Darling.”

  Grace pulled her sobbing child to her and held him tightly in a hug.

  “I- I was dreaming about Pa again.”

  Sam could hardly get the words out before he broke down and sobbed. Grace held her son and stroked his hair, trying to soothe him as best she could. It was hard these days, working all day to put food on the table for both of them, and trying to keep her son happy at night.

  It had been a rough few months for both of them. Samuel’s father, Mr. Samuel Maroon was a sailor. He had gone to sea on a grand voyage to bring back whale oil nearly 9 months ago. Instead of Mr. Maroon returning to his family with wealth and prosperity, they received a letter from his captain explaining that there had been an accident at sea.

  In spite of all their greatest efforts, Mr. Samuel Maroon was lost in the waves, and swallowed by the ocean.

  That had been months ago, but Grace and Sam were still trying to pick up the pieces. Grace did her best to help Sam get through it, but he struggled. There were times when he seemed to be doing very well, then there were nights like tonight.

  “I dreamt we were on his boat together. He told me to bring him the rope, and when I got back, he was in the ocean. I tried to throw the rope to him, but it was so heavy, and I just couldn’t.” Sam sobbed as he related his dream to his mother, who hushed him as she stroked his hair.

  “It was just a dream Sam. Try to get some sleep. You need your rest.”

  She gently rocked him back and forth until he finally drifted off to sleep once more, then she laid him back on the bed.

  Grace silently rose and crept over to the door. She felt terrible for her son, and wished there was something she could do to help him, but the doctor insisted that time was all that could help.

  She slid through the door and poked her head back into the room. She could hear her son breathing deeply, and a feeling of relief swept over her. As long as he was sleeping well she knew his thoughts were on sweet things.

  Back in her own room, Grace stared up at the ceiling. She felt her husband’s absence, too. She felt it even deeper than Sam did in some ways. Lying alone in the dark, next to that open space in her bed made his absence feel almost crushing.

  Grace rolled over on her side and faced the wall. Her bed didn’t seem so empty when she faced the wall. It was almost as though she were a little girl again, lying in her bed with her dolls, dreaming of the future.

  With a sigh, Grace pushed herself over onto her back once more and stared at the wooden ceiling.

  I never thought it was going to be this hard. When I was a girl I imagined a life that was happy. A husband and a son and a home of our own. Not this shanty. Not this sorrow.

  A tear rolled down her cheek, but she brushed it away with a scoff. She hadn’t cried at all since receiving that letter. It was the last time she really felt anything. Ever since that day life was just one large feeling of numbness, and she was at the center.

  So many things rushed through her mind, making sleep even more difficult than it usually was.

  The bills are stacking up, and so are the chores. There’s no way I can keep this house and both of those horses. Not with Sam being so young yet.

  Poor Sam! He isn’t doing well at all. He needs his father back in his life… how else is he going to learn all the things he will need in life? I know how to cook and clean and tend to his studies, but I don’t know the first thing about tools or wood or anything like that!

  The tears came again, but this time, Grace didn’t stop them. She didn’t feel sad, she felt drained. She felt as though all of her strength were gone, and she had no energy to try to find more.

  She prayed. She prayed that God would give her the strength she needed to get through the next day, and the strength she needed for Sam.

  “And if You could bring a father into Sam’s life, I would be much obliged.” Grace said the end of her prayer aloud, wondering if that would help her feel better. She sighed as she still felt the same.

  How was she going to find a father for Sam when she hardly had time to keep food on the table? And with the bills stacking up she knew it wouldn’t be long before the bank came calling. It all felt so helpless.

  Pfft. I would do just about anything to get Sam a father right now. Not to mention me a husband! I don’t think I could ever love anyone like I loved Samuel Maroon, but I need someone who is going to put the roof over our heads and the bread on the table.

  Even if he just reads the paper on Sunday I’d be… wait! That’s it! The paper!

  Grace sat up in bed, energy suddenly flooding through her. She had an idea.

  It might be crazy, it might be impossible, but it was an idea, and she was going to give it a try.

  Chapter 2 – A Chance in the Paper

  “How was school today?”

  Grace asked as Sam came running in through the door. A few weeks had passed since Sam had a nightmare. He seemed to do better during the day, especially when he got to spend the day at school.

  “It was all right I guess. Say Mama?”

  “Yes Sam? What is it?”

  “Do you think I could be a sailor one day? Just like Pa was?”

  Grace stopped kneading the dough she had on the table in front of her, and looked up at her son. Sam had always said he wanted to be a banker, with lots of money and fine clothes. The sea had never much interested him before.

  “I suppose you can be anything you set your mind to, Sammy dear. Now hurry and wash up, I am going to have supper on the table shortly.”

  Sam’s face broke into a smile at his mother’s reply, and he headed back outside to the well. He greatly preferred splashing water on his face out of the well. In spite of all her encouragement, Grace just couldn’t get him to use her washbasin indoors.

  When Sam came back inside, he pushed his book bag under the sack of flour on the table, and headed for his room.

  “Wait just a minute young man! You need to come recite to me your studies.”

  Grace knew he was going to try to do that, and chuckled at his grumbling as he came back and grabbed his bag. When he pulled his tablet out of the bag, his chalk landed on the floor next to an envelope.

  “What’s that?”

  His mother stooped to pick up the letter, and Sam explained that Mrs. Gravadge at the post office had told him to give Grace the letter, but he had forgotten.

  “Sorry Ma, I was sorta thinkin about more important things. You know, frogs and bugs and things.”

  “Never mind Sam, and never mind your studies. I’ll trust that you did them at school, and I expect to see all of your work tomorrow, now here’s an apple, run along and I’ll call you in for dinner.”

  “Gee whiz! I got time to catch a frog or two!”

  “Sam grabbed his hat and jammed it on his sandy head on his way out the door, and Grace called after him not to get too muddy. She then turned her attention to the envelope.

  She didn’t recognize the handwriting, and with nervous fingers she opened the top, and slipped the letter into her hand.

  It read:

  Dear Mrs. Maroon,

  Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Jasper Farris, and I have a ranch out here in Montana. I couldn’t help but notice your ad in the paper this last Sunday, for you seem to be just whom I am looking for.


  You see, I have a lot of things in life, but what I don’t have is a family, and you and your son would be just the miracle I need to make that dream come true. If you will have me, I would like to send you these two tickets to come out here.

  Our wedding shall follow directly, and I will love your son like my own.

  I look forward to hearing from you.

  Regards,

  J. Farris.

  Grace’s knees suddenly felt weak as she stood there with the letter in her hand. It seemed the answer to her prayers had come, and she could once again give Sam a father. She tried not to think of herself, and how nice it would be to be loved once more, but she couldn’t help but feel somewhat excited.

  Grace quickly set the letter high on her shelf so Sam wouldn’t find it, and finished forming the loaves into pans. She didn’t know what she was going to tell him, or how he was going to take the news. Sam was a quiet kid, and didn’t have a lot of friends, so Grace told herself she wasn’t taking him away from what he needed.

  After all, he needs a father more than he needs friends and school, and I suppose there are schools out there in Montana with lots of boys Sam’s age. He’ll make new friends in no time, and be better off for it. He’ll have a father again, and that’s what is important above anything else.

  Grace grabbed two bowls and her ladle, and generously served stew into both of the bowls. She didn’t know how she was going to tell Sam, or if she even should. Part of her wanted to just take him to Montana and tell him what was happening when they arrived, and part of her thought she should tell him right up front.

  “If he doesn’t want to go I’ll just tell him he has to.”

  Grace didn’t know why she spoke out loud, but the sound of her own voice in the empty room made her jump. This whole idea put her on edge, and made her wonder if she herself was ready to make such a move. It was nearly a year since her husband had left, and half a year since he had perished.