Miranda Takes a Stand

by Jordan Bollinger

  "Yes," Victoria said. "And, you'll be staying with me in the hotel. Gus swore to your mother I'd chaperone you while they're away.

  "I don't know what they planned to do when they get back. Gus promised Meg she'll be coming into town each morning. So, perhaps you could go home with her until you and Brian are married."

  "Well," Eva conceded, "you're probably right. Because there is no way Ma's allowing me to stay in the residence behind the workshop alone."

  Neil took a big bite of cake before he said, "Well, I'll be picking up Meg's personal furniture. So, you and Brian have time to purchase some things of your own and arrange them before you move in."

  "Oh, I hadn't even thought about that," Eva said. "But, I'm sure you're right. Of course, Meg will want her own bedroom furniture and desk and things."

  "Well, come on, Eva, eat your cake so we can get back to town. It gets dark early. You can have dinner with us. Then you can go up to the room and have a nice bath."

  "I should help with the dishes," Eva said.

  “That’s all right," Miranda told the girl. "Kit and Colleen will keep me company while I clean up. You all get back to town.”

  Eva gathered up her things and Neil took them to the buggy as she and Victoria hugged everyone, and asked the girls to drink a little milk, before she and Neil left. Then, they all stood in the doorway waving good bye.

  As soon as they were gone and Kit and Colleen started cleaning the kitchen, Colleen asked, "What would you like for dinner? Or, are you too full? There's some ham. We could make little tea sandwiches and keep the party going. Or, I could make a big batch of scrambled eggs. Kit could make some biscuits, and we can have some fried ham whether you two want any or not."

  "Scrambled eggs is fine, Miss," Lynn said. "But, I'm not sure I can eat very much more after that cake. It was so good. I couldn't tell you when I last had cake."

  "Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it. And, I promise, from now on, we'll eat more cake. We'll have cake for birthdays and holidays, and sometimes, just because we want some."

  "Miss Miranda," Lynn began, in a very small, low voice, "why does Miss Meg want her furniture moved?"

  "Well, you heard the doctor say she and Mr. Gus got married. When they get back from their trip, Meg will be living at Mr. Gus' house. So, of course, she'll want her things out there."

  The child looked at her, still wearing a puzzled look. After several moments, she said, "I see. She'll want her things there, so she can set up her room like it was behind the workshop?"

  "Ah... no... it's because..." Miranda paused, not sure how to answer. After a moment, she called out, "Girls, I'm going to go start dinner. Then, later, there's something I think I need to talk with you about."

  "Yes, ma'am."

  Kit looked in the breadbox, and said, "There's a big piece of corn bread. I could warm that up, instead of making biscuits, if it's all right with you."

  "Yes, that will be fine. Colleen and I will take care of getting dinner on the table. Could you see if Lynn's warm enough and then sponge Kathy off again?"

  "Of course. But, is something wrong, Miss?"

  "Not exactly," Miranda said. But, after a moment, she admitted, "I don't know. I think I need to speak to the girls about weddings and marriage, and things like that. However, I believe I'll talk to Colleen about it."

  She looked at Kit and insisted, "Not that I don't trust you, or want to discuss it with you. I just need one of you to keep your eye on the girls." Then after a moment, she asked, "What do you think about it?"

  "You mean tell them about being married, what happens between husbands and wives, and how it's different from... from what they were forced to do?"

  "Yes, exactly. Do you think they've realized what happens between a man and his wife?"

  "No, ma'am. I don't think they've worked it out, as yet. Leastwise, not little Lynn. Kathy might have figured things out. I'll go do as you asked. And, I'll be quiet if you want me to. Whatever you decide."

  "Thank you," Miranda said, sinking into a chair.

  Half an hour later, the five were gathered around the table again. Kathy was sipping on milk, and Lynn on hot tea. They each had eaten several bites of egg, but no ham or cornbread.

  Once Miranda ate all she was going to, she cleared her throat, and began, "I want to try to explain some things to the two of you. Lynn, earlier, you looked confused about why we were talking about Meg's furniture being taken to Gus' house."

  "Yes, ma'am."

  "When a man and woman get married, they live together."

  "So, she's moving her furniture to her new room at Gus' house?"

  "Well, yes. But, probably not in the way I think you mean." Turning to Kathy, Miranda asked, "Do you understand, sweetheart?"

  "Yes, ma'am. When you say 'live together', you mean they'll sleep together. So, Mr. Gus is going to do what those men did to me."

  "Well, no. Yes. It's not very easy to explain."

  "But, they do 'bad things' to the women?"

  "Not exactly, Lynn. I'm trying to explain—"

  "No! We can't let Mr. Gus do those things to Miss Meg. We need to get to her! To warn her!" Lynn sobbed.

  "Lynn... Lynn!" Miranda cried out, as she went to the girl. Once she'd pulled her up onto her lap, she said, "Mr. Gus would never do anything to hurt Miss Meg. I promise you."

  "But Kathy said—"

  "I know what she said."

  "So, she's wrong?"

  "Yes. No. It's complicated." Sighing, Miranda tried again. "Kathy, you're older. I'm sure you or one of your friends thought a boy was cute, or even had a crush on them."

  "Well, at the home, I heard older girls talking about some boy being handsome. A few claimed one was sweet on them. But, I'm not sure how true it was. I mean, there weren't any boys at the home, only girls."

  "Yes. I suppose. But, even though you've only seen Meg and Gus together a few times, you must have seen how they like each other, how they love each other. Haven't you?"

  "Yes, but what has that to do with what he'll do to her?"

  Suddenly, Kit chimed in, "Kathy, haven't you seen the way Mr. Jake figures a reason to come into the house at least a couple times every day?"

  "Yes."

  Miranda picked up on this, adding, "That's because he's flirting with Miss Colleen."

  Kit looked at her, shook her head a little, and then said, "Men find a woman they like, and if the woman likes them back, they'll keep company. Then, if they don't get to hate one another, they say they're in love. And that's when they decide to get married."

  "Well, that's not exactly what I was planning on saying," Miranda exclaimed. "In fact, it's not at all how I would have explained love."

  "No, I guess not," Kit said. "I tried to make it simpler for her."

  "But, we can't let him hurt her!"

  "Calm yourself, Lynn. Meg will not be hurt, I promise you."

  "What Miss Miranda is telling you is the truth," Kit told them. "Miss Meg and Mr. Gus have been sweet on each other for a while. And, even when they got engaged at the end of September, they wouldn't get married until you two were found, until you were safe."

  "But that doesn't mean he won't..." Lynn argued.

  Miranda took a hand from each girl and held it as she insisted, "You don't need to worry about Meg. When men and women love each other and marry, they sleep in the same bed. And, they have... ah... relations. But, the woman isn't, or shouldn't be, forced into doing anything. And a good man, like Gus, doesn't hurt his wife."

  She looked from one perplexed face to the other and back, and said, "I don't mean to remind you of the awful things that happened to you. However, I think it's important for you to understand that what went on in that... that place isn't how things are between people who love each other.

  "Someday, I hope each of you will fall in love and get married, and have husbands, and homes, and families of your very own. And to do that you will have to learn to trust people again."

  "But we do trust you," Kathy a
rgued. "At least, I do. And, I think that Lynn trusts you. And, by you, I mean you and Miss Meg, and Colleen, and Kit, and Eva, and the doctor."

  Miranda looked over at the girl, saddened. "But Kathy, you didn't mention any men. You trust Mr. Stratton, and Mr. Gus, and the sheriff, don't you?"

  "Yes, ma'am. And, Mr. Jake, too. But, that's about all."

  "Well, but isn't that about all the men you know?" Miranda asked, smiling.

  "Well... yes... I suppose so," Kathy acknowledged.

  "Now, I'm not saying that every man you meet is trustworthy. However, most will not try to do anything bad to you. You have to learn to judge men... well, people, all people."

  "But how will we know how to judge people?" Lynn asked, frowning.

  "I can't tell you exactly. But, perhaps, one way would be to watch the men, who we all agree are good men, and how they interact with each other. And how they interact with other people."

  "But won't folks just put on a face, when they know they might be observed?" Kathy asked.

  "Yes," Miranda answered. "But, haven't you ever felt that you shouldn't do something? You know, that something isn't right, because a little voice inside you tells you so. You need to learn to hear that inner voice and trust it."

  "But how?" Lynn whined.

  "By watching and listening to things around you. Part of what parents and teachers do is to help you know right from wrong. And, once you know the difference, in your heart, you'll hear that little voice."

  "But Miss," Kathy began, "I knew we shouldn't do the things we did. Even Lynn, as young as she is, knew it was wrong. But, we didn't have a choice. After all, Lori and Jeannine tried to argue and fight back and they ended up dead."

  "Yes," Miranda agreed, trying to think of something to say. After a moment, she said, "What you were forced to do was wrong. And, perhaps, if Lori hadn't snuck out several times, she might also be here with us, now. But no one can say that for sure.

  "Sometimes, it's safer to do whatever someone says to do. But, I'm not saying that means do whatever everyone says. This goes back to what I was saying just before.

  "For the most part, your little voice will tell you whether you should try to get away from someone, or do what they say. It will usually tell you what the best thing is to do to keep yourself safe.

  "However, you also need to know when it might be better, and by that, I mean safer, to go along with things. Because, in the end, we want you to be safe.

  "Do you understand?"

  "Not really, Miss," Lynn answered.

  "Well, what if you think about things for a day or two, and when you're ready, we'll speak again.

  "Perhaps, after Meg and Gus return. And you can see she has not been hurt in any way."

  "Yes, ma'am."

  Chapter Fourteen

  "You want me to speak to the girls about what!" Meg cried out.

  "You don't have to go into details," Victoria insisted. "But, I was right... about what we spoke about, wasn't I?" she said, grinning.

  "Well," Meg said in a low voice, as she flushed and avoided making eye contact with Victoria, "yes."

  "Wonderful!"

  "Victoria, I can't talk to them about that. I can't even talk to you about it."

  "I'm not asking you to share intimate details," she said, grinning. Then, laughing, added, "At least, not now. You can do that when we're alone.

  "The thing is, Lynn became extremely distressed when Miranda tried to tell them why your furniture would be going out to Gus."

  "But why would moving furniture upset her so?"

  "Well, Miranda was talking about you two getting married.

  "I still must be missing something," Meg insisted.

  "Well, it was clear from their comments, the girls didn't understand about what 'getting married' meant. And, Miranda tried to explain that when a man and a woman love each other, they share a bed and bedroom and do what the girls were forced to do.

  "Lynn was very upset and afraid for you. She wanted us to save you. She thought Gus would hurt you. So, Miranda was just trying to tell them that all men aren’t horrible.

  "She wanted them to know that loving men and women shared things that, at first glance, might seem the same as what they were forced to do, but it isn't. It's much different."

  "But why would she—"

  "Because, she, we all, hope that the girls can have normal lives, eventually. They need to see that not all people are bad, just as not all people are good."

  "Well, yes."

  "So, can't you see how difficult that would be? These girls have been betrayed by so many people. And, it will take some time and a lot of work to convey those ideas."

  "Yes, I can," Meg sighed.

  *****

  "Girls, Meg and Gus are here with the doctor and Mr. Stratton. At least come greet the new couple. I promise, I won't let the doctor bully you into eating anything," Miranda called up the stairs.

  Both girls came bounding down the stairs.

  Colleen, Kit, and Kathy seemed genuinely glad to know that Meg was back. But, Lynn held back, almost as if she was afraid what she'd find.

  "Miss Meg! Mr. Gus!" Kit cried out. "Congratulations!"

  "Thank you, Kit."

  "Gus!" Miranda said, reaching out and pulling him into a hug. "Did you all enjoy Chicago?"

  "Well, we had terrible weather, but I believe I can speak for both of us when I say, 'yes'."

  "Well," Victoria said, looking at Neil, "why don't you and Gus go out and speak to Jake?"

  "Ah... yes. Why don't we?" Neil said, tugging on Gus' sleeve.

  Meanwhile, Meg and the doctor handed them their coats. When the men left, the women sat down at the table. Colleen gathered up cups and saucers, and things, as Miranda measured tealeaves into the pot.

  "I'll take care of the rest," Kit said. "You go talk with the girls."

  "Yes," she sighed. "I suppose we don't have any more reasons to put things off." Then she looked over at Meg, who seemed to give her an encouraging little nod. "Girls, don't you want to speak to Miss Meg?"

  Lynn marched straight up to her, and even though she was getting too big, she climbed in Meg's lap and asked, "Did Mr. Gus make you marry him?"

  "No, of course not. But you knew better than that already, didn't you, Lynn?"

  "Yes, I, suppose so. Still, he didn't hurt you, did he?"

  "No, of course not." She stroked the girl's hair back and said, "But, you didn't really believe he would, either?"

  "Well, no, but Miss Miranda said... she said that when people married, they did bad things to each other."

  "Lynn, I never said that," Miranda protested.

  Lynn looked a bit sheepish, but finally she capitulated, "Well, no. At least, not exactly.

  "But she did say that husbands did what those bad men did to us to their wives."

  "And, what else did she say?"

  "That when people love each other and get married, they might do the same things, but they weren't forced into doing anything."

  Meg looked at Kathy and asked, "Do you have anything to ask me?"

  "No, ma'am, not really. I always understood when they spoke about boys getting sweet on girls they eventually fell in love and got married.

  "I knew about that before we came to Manchester and ended up in that awful place. I guess I just needed to be reminded about being in love and marrying. But, Lynn was really afraid for you."

  "But, she's not going to be afraid anymore," Meg stated, and down at the child she still held. "Are you?"

  "No, ma'am. And, I'll apologize to Mr. Gus when he gets in."

  "Ah," Meg answered, coloring, "I don't think that's necessary. Why don't we just keep it between us ladies?"

  *****

  Victoria looked first at Miranda and then Meg, cleared her throat and said, "As long as we're all here—with the men safely outside—there's something else we need to talk about." She took Lynn's hand and asked, "Have you noticed how your body is changing?"

  "What do you
mean, change?"

  "Your waist is thicker and your breasts are... well... becoming breasts."

  "Yes, I suppose."

  "And, you've been sick in the mornings several times, haven't you?" Victoria continued.

  "Yes, but I didn't want any of you to know," Lynn answered, tears beginning to well up in her eyes.

  "But, why?" Miranda asked.

  "Because I'm afraid of what it means—that I'm going to have a baby, too. You all have already taken Kathy and me in. And, Kathy's going to have a baby. I was afraid that if I was having a baby too, it would be too much. And, I'd have to go somewhere else."

  Miranda jumped up, rushed over to the child, and hugged her. "Oh, Lynn, dear, you don't need to worry about that. I'm keeping you all for as long as you want to be here." She smiled at the girl and added, "Besides, how much more work another baby make?

  "But, we're all going to have to make more diapers." She kissed Lynn's tear-stained cheek and said, "Now, dry your eyes before the men get back inside. Men are terrified of tears!"

  *****

  The entire congregation greeted the newly married couple as they entered the church.

  Meg blushed demurely, before she shot the doctor an evil look, and asked, "You told everyone?"

  "Of course, we told everyone," Victoria answered before Ma could. "Didn't you think people would ask?"

  "Why would they ask?" Meg inquired, wearing a peeved expression.

  "Because you both disappeared at the same time. You both reappeared at the same time. And, you are no longer staying in back of the workshop.

  "After all, in wasn't to be a secret. You only wanted to have Pastor Cleary marry you." Victoria told them.

  "But now everyone knows..."

  "Of course they do," Ma told them. "It's nothing to be ashamed of. It's not as if you did anything wrong."

  "I suppose..." Meg answered, clearly uncomfortable because of the attention.

  Gus took pity on his bride and, pulling her closer to him, announced, "Thank you for all your good wishes. We hadn't planned on marrying for another month or so. However, when we discovered the Clearys were leaving to go back east, we decided to marry quickly and quietly. And, I promise you, we'll be having a big celebration very soon.

  "But, we need to get settled in our seats for services now."