His Brother's Castoff

by Lena Nelson Dooley

  Gerda stood and started folding the skirt. “I was glad you came to church yesterday. We have missed you there.”

  Anna continued cutting. “I know, and I missed being there.” She reached the end of the long side of the skirt, so she had to turn the scissors a different direction. She moved around the edge of the table so her hand wasn’t at an uncomfortable angle to cut the rest of the garment. “It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.”

  “Bad?” Gerda stopped folding and walked over to Anna. “Why would going to church be bad?”

  Anna carefully laid the scissors down and stood up, looking her friend in the eye. “I thought that everyone would be sympathetic. . .or ask questions or something.”

  Gerda smiled. “Oh, Anna. Everyone cares about you, but no one wants to make you uncomfortable.”

  “I know that. And it helps.”

  Olina knocked on the door that connected to the parlor, then opened it. “I want to talk to you two.”

  Anna pulled up a chair and offered it to Olina. Then she sat on a stool that was beside the cutting table.

  “What’s on your mind?” Gerda picked up the folded skirt and placed it on the shelf where the finished articles were kept.

  “Now that Thanksgiving is over, we need to think about Christmas.”

  “Isn’t it a little early?” Anna asked.

  “Not at all.” Olina leaned forward as if she were eager. “I love Christmas.”

  Anna nodded. “I always have, too.”

  Olina looked up at her. “I know that you have your own family, but I really need help here. That buggy ride out to the farm gets harder and harder. I would like to have Christmas for the family here at our house, but I can’t do it by myself. Would you two help me?”

  Anna thought a minute. “I might have to spend Christmas Day at home with my family, but I could help you prepare. That is, if you give us time to work on all the orders we have.”

  Olina clapped her hands. It reminded Anna of the way Marja Braxton at the mercantile always clapped her hands when she was excited. Maybe Olina was picking up some of her habits.

  “August said he would help us, too.”

  When Anna started home, riding on Buttermilk, she revisited the conversation with Olina. Did Anna really want to spend that much time with August? It might not be too bad. . .if she could remember that he was only a friend. She wondered why she was thinking so much about him. She was supposed to have been in love with Olaf, and it had only been a couple of months since he died. She should still feel devastated, shouldn’t she?

  She had been so upset when Gustaf turned away from her love for him. Wasn’t she turning away from her love of Olaf in the same way?

  A thought struck Anna in the heart. Maybe she hadn’t loved Olaf any more than he loved her. Was she truly in love with him, or was she only in love with the idea of being a wife and mother? Anna didn’t like what she saw deep inside her heart.

  She had liked Olaf. A lot. They had fun together, but something was missing from their relationship. Up until now, she had felt that the lack was one sided. Only Olaf didn’t express the love she needed. Maybe the reason he didn’t love her enough was because she didn’t really love him either. Perhaps on some level, he understood that. It could be that the love they felt for each other wasn’t strong enough to carry them through all the stresses of married life. Maybe God hadn’t wanted her to marry Olaf. Maybe He didn’t want her to be married at all.

  Why is life so complicated?

  Anna pushed aside these thoughts and put her mind to the plans for Christmas. That was what she needed. Something to keep her busy.

  Anna felt that she reached a turning point during that ride home. She was strong. An independent businesswoman. Her life was full. She didn’t need anything else. Especially not a man.

  Five

  January 1895

  As Anna drove the buggy toward the dress shop, her thoughts returned to Christmas. Not only did she spend holiday time with her own family, she had been included in the festivities at the Nilssons’. Since most of their celebrations took place at Gustaf and Olina’s house, and since Olina needed Gerda and Anna to help her, Anna’s time had been completely filled. She knew that if she had had much time to think, she would have had a hard time with the holiday. As it was, she was able to close off her heart from the pain and fill her life with the busyness Christmas brought to her.

  Another benefit of her activities was the fact that she felt competent. While she was helping with all the cooking, decorating, and gift preparation, her confidence grew. More and more, the idea of her independence blossomed within her. Any doubts or lingering desires for a marriage and children were quickly pushed into some far recess of her mind. She made a concerted effort to forget that they were there.

  During the holidays, Olina had talked to Gerda and Anna. She wanted Anna to take her place in the dressmaking business. Olina would have her hands full with her home and family. Anna had wondered how she and Gerda would continue to work, since they were using the room at Gustaf and Olina’s house for a workroom. Olina told them that it was not an imposition, since Gerda was family anyway. Now Anna was half owner of a successful business.

  Although the remnants of the latest snowfall had turned mushy, Anna didn’t have any problems getting to work that morning. She felt proud of herself as she drove the buggy through the open door of Gustaf’s barn. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t wonder why the barn door was open on such a cold day.

  “Anna, let me help you.”

  Almost before she could turn her head, two large hands rested on her waist and strong arms lifted her down from the conveyance. When she glanced up, she was standing much too close to August.

  “What are you doing here?” She couldn’t keep her question from sounding breathless.

  “Aren’t you glad to see me?”

  The twinkle in his eyes reached a place dangerously near her heart. Anna took a couple of steps back, almost tumbling over the barn cat.

  “I just didn’t expect you to be here at this time of day.”

  She started removing her soft leather gloves. The sooner she got the horse into a stall, the better. Who knew how long August would be there?

  The jingle of the harness caused Anna to look up from her hands. August was already leading the horse toward the stall she usually used. He grabbed a brush on the way.

  “You don’t have to do that.”

  August smiled back at her. “I know I don’t, but I want to.” He continued toward the stall.

  Anna stood watching him as if she were dumbfounded. Why was he doing this? After a moment, she mumbled, “Thank you.” Then she turned and hurried out of the barn as if something were chasing her.

  When she was halfway to the house, she heard August give a hearty laugh followed by, “You’re welcome.”

  What was so funny? She shook her head and rounded the side of the house. She wondered if Gerda had arrived. When she entered the workroom, she found a note telling her that Gerda had gone to the mercantile. It was a little early in the day for that, wasn’t it? Without another thought, Anna turned her attention to the many garments that needed work. She thought that when the holidays were over, the orders would slow down. But it had been a good year, and that didn’t happen. The more often women in the area wore their new dresses, the more orders she and Gerda received. Actually, they could use a larger workroom. If only that were possible.

  “Anna!”

  Gerda’s exuberant greeting as she entered the front door startled Anna. She looked up from the gabardine skirt she was cutting out.

  “Guess what!” Gerda threw off her navy wool cape, letting it slip to the floor, then started pulling off her knitted gloves.

  Anna put the scissors on the table and turned to lean against it, crossing her arms. “I’m sure I don’t know.”

  Gerda grabbed Anna and hugged her. “It’s the most wonderful news.”

  Anna could hardly catch her breath b
ecause Gerda was hugging her so hard. “Well, tell me before you squeeze me in two.”

  Gerda pulled away and laughed. She walked over to the heavy laden shelves along the back wall of the workroom.

  “See how crowded we are.”

  Anna nodded, hoping that Gerda would hurry and tell what was making her so excited.

  “How would you like to have a larger workroom?”

  Had she read Anna’s mind? Anna turned, picked up the scissors, and started cutting again. “That would be nice, but I’m sure that if Gustaf were to add a room to the house, it wouldn’t be for us.”

  Gerda dropped onto the stool beside the cutting table. “That’s not what I’m talking about.” She leaned her elbows on the end of the table that wasn’t covered with material. “When I was in town, the Braxtons asked if we would like to have a dress shop in the mercantile. They think it would help the store if we did. Johan even offered to give us space for a larger workroom as well as a display area. Both Johan and Marja think it will bring more customers into the store and increase their sales.”

  Anna had stopped cutting halfway through Gerda’s explanation. She laid the scissors down and leaned back against the edge of the table, crossing her arms. “What did you tell them?”

  “That I needed to talk to you. What do you think?”

  Anna stood deep in thought. A dress shop in town. She could just picture a dress form in the front window featuring a beautiful outfit. Lace panels pulled back with cord ties gave a pleasing frame for the display. A real salesroom and a workroom, maybe room for storage.

  She turned toward Gerda and smiled. “I like it. How would it work?”

  Gerda stood and went to pick up her cape and gloves from where she dropped them. She hung the garment on a hook on the wall. “Remember when the Braxtons bought the building next door to the mercantile and expanded into it? They have been trying to update the merchandise they carry. It’s the 1890s, and our city is growing. They want to be more modern. They think the dress shop would be a welcome addition to the mercantile. They would let us have a portion of the right side of the store. We would probably need to get our brothers to help with the remodeling we need to do, but we could have a salesroom with a workroom behind it. And the workroom would be twice as large as this one. Johan said that they would only charge us a small percentage of sales for rent.”

  “I like it. Let’s do it.” This only added to Anna’s feeling of being an independent modern woman. Oh yes, she would have a fulfilling life as a successful businesswoman. And if Gerda ever decided to marry and have a family, then Anna would run the store by herself. Maybe this was what God had planned for her life all along. If it hadn’t matched her plans for herself, that didn’t matter. She took the new idea to heart, pushing everything else to the back of her mind.

  ❧

  It was a good thing it was the middle of winter. Otherwise, Gerda and Anna wouldn’t have had the help they needed to open the dress shop. Ollie and Lowell were glad to be working inside. So were Gustaf and August.

  All four of the men showed up at the mercantile on Monday morning to start the renovation. Anna and Gerda arrived at about the same time as their brothers. Mr. Braxton quickly took them to the section he had set aside for the new venture.

  Anna looked at the area that had been roped off. It was such a small part of the store, but even empty as it was now, it was so much larger than their workroom at Gustaf and Olina’s house.

  “I thought that we could put up a wall going from the front between the windows all the way to the back of the building.” Mr. Braxton made a sweeping gesture with his arm. “It would mean taking down one wall, so you would have access that far back.”

  Anna was amazed. She had assumed that the dress shop would only extend to the wall that separated the store from the storeroom behind it. If he was going to let them have that area, too, they would have plenty of room to work and ample space for storage.

  “Are you sure you want us to have all that space?” Anna asked Johan. She didn’t want any misunderstandings. If she was going to be a successful businesswoman, she needed to start right now by taking care of every detail.

  “Oh, yes.” Johan nodded. “It will almost be as though you have your own separate store.”

  Gerda and Anna walked along the rope, looking at the empty space. Then they went into the storeroom to see how much more space was available to them. When they came back into the main part of the store, their brothers were making plans with Johan.

  August looked toward the two young women. “I think we should ask Anna and Gerda exactly what they want.”

  “Of course,” Johan agreed. “Gerda and Anna, how much of this space do you want for your salesroom and how much for the workroom?”

  Gerda and Anna looked at each other. Anna wondered if they knew what they were getting themselves into. There were so many decisions to make.

  “Why don’t we get started on taking the wall to the storeroom down? That would give them some time to discuss what they want.” August picked up a hammer and saw, then started toward the back wall. The other men followed him.

  Anna was glad she had thought to bring a pencil and some paper. She and Gerda stood beside one of the empty counters and started discussing what they wanted, drawing it on the paper. It took about an hour, but they agreed about what was needed.

  Anna walked toward the hardworking men with confidence, while Gerda went to the front of the store to look at the windows. The excitement of the day had reinforced Anna’s determination to become a very successful shopkeeper. She started to show her drawings to her brothers. August, Gustaf, and Johan noticed and joined them.

  “We would like a wall that goes all the way from the front to the back of the building, with a door from the mercantile into the display area and a door from the storeroom of the mercantile into our storage area. The only entrances into the workroom will be from the salesroom and the storeroom.”

  After showing the men the drawings she and Gerda had made, Anna walked over to the place where the wall between the display area and working space should be. With a defining gesture, she marked the exact line where it would be placed. Gustaf took a piece of chalk from his pocket and drew a line on the floor. Turning, Anna marched through the hole the men had made in the wall.

  “We don’t need as much area for storage as you do, Mr. Braxton, so we want our other wall right here.” Anna used her right hand to slice through the air in the exact spot.

  Once again, Gustaf used the chalk to mark the place.

  ❧

  August watched Anna as she gave directions to the men. A different Anna had emerged today. An Anna who was strong, in command of the situation. Who even showed a slightly hard edge. He wasn’t sure he liked that. No longer could he see the sparkle that usually lit her eyes. During the holidays, it had finally started coming back, but now it looked as if it had been entirely extinguished. She had been more and more like the old Anna he had fallen in love with so many years ago. Suddenly, that Anna had once again disappeared to be replaced by this stranger. This. . .businesswoman.

  Even though a new century was fast approaching, August wasn’t sure he agreed with the modern women he saw emerging all around him. He wanted women to be like his mother. A homemaker, wife, and mother whose main focus was her family. Not a shopkeeper who ran a successful business. If a woman needed to work, that was one thing, but couldn’t she keep some of the more desirable qualities?

  “Hey, Brother, are you going to help us, or are you going to stand there and stare?” Gustaf interrupted his thought process.

  August turned around and walked toward the remnants of the wall they were removing. Only a little more work, and they could start building the new walls.

  ❧

  On Tuesday, Gerda and Anna designed the workroom, while the men built the long wall that would divide their shop from the mercantile. They drew the plan for shelves and tables that would make their work easier. Of course, they would be able t
o bring most of the things they had been using at Gustaf and Olina’s house. All except the built-in shelves. They had enough work to keep all four brothers busy for a couple of weeks, maybe longer.

  “Anna.” Mr. Braxton spoke only to her, as if he, too, recognized that she was in charge. “I have ordered a new sign for over the mercantile. Have you ever met Silas Johnson?” When Anna shook her head, he continued. “He’s a painter who moved to town about six months ago. His fancy lettering made him an instant hit with the merchants. He’s doing our sign. Do you want a separate sign from the mercantile?”

  Gerda had been listening to the conversation. She turned to Anna. “That would be good, but we need to decide what to name our part of the store. Do you have any ideas?”

  Anna thought for a minute. “What about the Dress Emporium?”

  “Oh, I like that. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could have the letters painted on the glass?” Gerda started doodling on the tablet they were using for their plans. “Maybe in an arc like this.” She printed block letters on the paper to illustrate what she meant. “But with the same kind of fancy letters that the Braxtons are using for the mercantile.”

  Marja had been stocking shelves a little way from where her husband was talking to their new tenants, so she had heard the conversation. “That would really give both stores an elegant look, wouldn’t it.” She clapped her hands as she usually did when she was excited. “We’ll have the painter do both at the same time.”

  ❧

  It had taken three weeks for the Dress Emporium to be finished. While the men worked at the store, Gerda and Anna stayed in the workroom at Gustaf and Olina’s house. There were too many orders from customers for them to take three weeks off. But every day they both went to check on the progress of their new space.

  One day when Anna stepped into the mercantile, August met her. “I think you need some windows in the work area.”

  For a moment, Anna was lost in his intent gaze.