Yet, every breath that exchanged between our urgent mouths tasted limitless.”
- Anonymous
She smiled at how poetic it was and tried to remember if she had read it somewhere but couldn’t. She did not miss the subliminal meaning to the message and she smiled at its realization. She had been right about him; John did know how to romance a woman when he was ready. This adventure that was to be their lives was just getting started and she looked forward to what it might mean. She didn’t miss the fact too that he had placed her in her own bed for the night and not in their matrimonial bed. She loved that he respected the fact that she had chosen to sleep away from him and the choice as to when she returned should be hers. It was warming to say the least.
She fell asleep again staring at the petals and wondering if there was any particular meaning to the number of black and red roses in the bouquet. She had heard somewhere that every bouquet combination had a deeper meaning and in particular where roses were concerned.
A soft rap came on her door later and she smiled as soon as she heard her husband ask if he could come in. Today was the day she would tell him the glorious news and hoped that he would be as happy about it as she was.
“Come in,” she called, her voice still a bit husky from sleep and as the door opened she looked at the man she loved carrying a tray of food. Sometimes she had to stop and wonder when she had gone from liking him to loving him, but the answer was always clear, every day that they had spent together up until Cynthia’s arrival was a day she had loved him. The days following that had been spent doubt both their decisions, but even then she knew all marriages faced their storms and she was not willing to let that define them. Besides, he had made it up to her in immeasurable ways.
“Good morning sunshine,” his perky voice ran any sleep she had remaining, right out of the building. “Oh, I see you have an admirer. Who do you have sending you bouquets in our home?” he teased.
“Well, some wonderful stranger has decided to rid my mind of all the evil things of the past few days and give me something wonderful to wake up to. I think I shall marry him once I have found his identity out,” she said playfully.
“That would be signing his death. I would challenge him to a duel for your love,” he hopped around the room pretending to have a sword and jabbed at the air in vivid imagination. Much to her delight he even pretended to lose. She looked at him yet again and felt nothing but love for the man who had stolen her away from herself.
“Eat up,” he said moments later coming to pick from her plate. “You will need your strength if you are to watch me duel to the death.”
“And I will need to keep my strength up for your child that I am carrying inside me.” That stopped him in his tracks and he looked at her in shock.
“Yes,” she responded and he hopped around again in joy, dashing out of the room moments later to tell Clive and the entire household the news. She listened to the joyous screams that rang out around the house and couldn’t help but laugh at the joy her baby was already bringing to the house hold and it had yet to be born.
“I love you,” he whispered against her lips moments later as he walked back into the room to where she sat munching enthusiastically on the food he had brought her. “I love you so much.”
She pulled him into her, inhaling the scent he wore that she had become so familiar with. The scent that soothed her each day, feeling his heart beat against hers and really realized that of all the things she had wished for in her life, she had been granted them all in one go. A husband to love and be loved by, a house to call her own, a family who would always be there and now a child she would carry into this world. She had only one more prayer to give and that was of gratitude for the things she had and for the things she knew she would be blessed with.
That day after she managed to tear herself away from a reluctant John, who did not want her out of his sight, she sat and she penned letters to Megan, Lenard and Jenny. It was an invitation to come be with her during her last stages of pregnancy, so they could be there for the birth of the child she knew they would love. While John worked she did what any expectant mother would do, stayed home and thought of baby names while trying to decide how she would redo the nursery. In the end she decided that it was a decision she would make with her husband.
“Congratulations,” Clive said behind her as she flipped through the books on the small bookshelf in the nursery. “I had long since given up on hearing the laughter of children running through the halls of this house.”
“You had given up all hope that John would have come home alive?” she asked him.
“No,” he said walking into the room to stand beside her. “I had given up all hope of him finding a woman worthy of carrying his child but you prove my fears unfounded almost every day.”
She turned to him. “There is a sadness about you Clive, a sadness that I am almost certain is not your own. Will you tell me someday what it is about?”
He smiled at her and turned to leave the room. “Maybe one day I won’t have to.”
His response was one of a contented sigh and she looked forward to life in this house. When she felt John’s hand encircle her waist moments later she smiled.
“I thought you had been to work,” she said leaning back against him.
“I was, but I found I wanted to be no place that you were not, and so I came home.”
*****
THE END.
The Wondering Bride
Mail Order Bride
CHRISTIAN MICHAEL
Chapter 1 – Broken Dreams
“I said it before, and I am going to say it again, but this is the last time! A woman’s place is at home and in the kitchen, and that is where you are going to be!”
“I get my work done, and I make sure everything is ready on time, I just want to go to the library for a few things, then I will be home!”
“Amelia! I will not have this, you are going to stay here, and that is the end of it!”
The door slammed, and Amelia flung herself onto the chair by the table. It wasn’t unusual for her to fight with her step father, for they had never gotten along. Amelia’s mother had married the man when Amelie was eleven years old, and since that time, she had clashed with him and his wishes.
Her mother had passes away when Amelia was fifteen, and it had been just her and her step father ever since. She hoped after her mother had passed that things would be better for her and her dad, but they only seemed to get worse. The older Amelia got, the more he wanted her to be home and working in the kitchen.
When Amelia turned nineteen, she hoped her step father would allow her to attend the academy in town. It was one of the only academies in all of Georgia that allowed women, and Amelia felt it was an opportunity for her to better herself, and maybe get to travel.
But Toby, her step father, was clear on his point of view. He wanted her home, at all times. She could go down to the general store and fetch the things they needed for dinner, or she might walk up in the back pasture when her things were done, but she wasn’t going to any academies, she wasn’t going to the library, and she certainly wasn’t going to be out meeting young men in the town.
And so the fights ensued. When she was younger, Amelia’s mother was the one who kept Toby busy. She would often cook and clean, and mind the house while he was down at the saloon passing the day away. She taught Amelia to cook and clean, and how to mind the house, but she never told Amelia when she should find her own house.
At the time, Amelia never gave it a lot of thought. She was happy there with her mother most of the time, as long as she stayed out of Toby’s way. The few times their paths did cross in a day, it was usually short and sweet, and Amelia would get back to her schooling and her chores.
Then Amelia finished her school, but instead of moving on to apprentice with one of the other women in town, she took care of her mother, who had fallen sick with Scarlet Fever. In spite of all the care and tears Amelia cast for her mother, the
sickness won out and she was left alone with Toby.
Toby hadn’t been around for her mother when she was ill, and Amelia partially blamed him for her passing. If he had spent more of his money on medicine and more of his time with her mother, she may have been able to recover, but as it happened, her mother had to suffer with the little things Amelia was able to make for her, but never with any real medication.
Amelia had begged Toby to allow her to send for the doctor, but he had refused. Time and time again he told her the doctor wasn’t any good, and he was only going to take the little money they had. There would be no sense in hiring a doctor to do what Amelia was able to do without one, so they never sent for one.
The years after her mother passes were rough for Amelia. She was in the home whenever Toby was home, doing the things that he required of her to do. She would cook and clean, and mend the clothing. If there were errands to run, she would do them, and if a guest were to be coming for dinner, it was Amelia’s job to purchase and make the food.
She had little time to herself, but even the time that she did have Toby controlled. He didn’t allow her to go anywhere. If there was a chance she may meet someone and fall in love, he didn’t allow her to attend, even if he would also be present. She wasn’t allowed to go to any of the parties, and going about town except for errands was strictly forbidden.
Now, as Amelia sat on the chair in the kitchen, she felt as though she had reached her breaking point. Enough was enough, and this was getting to be unbearable. There were times when she considered going to the sheriff, but she knew she couldn’t prove anything, and she felt she would likely get in more trouble with Toby if she did.
She begged him to go to church with her, but as the weeks passed, he not only refused, but he tried to keep her from going as well. Amelia knew it couldn’t go on like this forever. She had to do something.
She had already given up on her dreams, her hopes, and any of the plans she ever had for the future. She forgot what it was like to be happy, and whenever she thought of the things she wanted, an overwhelming sadness fell over her that took hours or even days to shake.
As she sat there with her head in her hands, she let the tears fall. She prayed to God that something would change for her, and soon. She couldn’t stay a prisoner in this house forever, she just couldn’t.
Something had to change, and soon.
Chapter 2 – The Lost Biscuits
“Where are the biscuits? Amelia!”
Amelia jumped at the sudden shout in the kitchen. She had been spending the past few days trying to get on Toby’s good side, but to little avail. She had spent all of the money she saved on his favorite foods… jerky, nuts, and those little dried fruits the general store had every now and then… and she had been certain to get all of the chores done before he got home.
Toby liked it best when the work was done when he wasn’t around. He wanted to wake up to breakfast on the table, and leave the work at home as he went about town. When he returned, he expected dinner to be waiting for him, with all of the other chores in the house done.
Amelia remembered how her mother had always worked so hard to make it happen, and how many nights she had failed. There was simply too much to do in their large house. There were the chickens in the back of the house to tend to, the milk cow and the horse in the stable, and there was the cooking and the cleaning to do inside.
Back in the olden days, there had been a handful of servants that did all the work for the master of the house, or at least that is what Toby had told them. Amelia often wondered how old Toby had managed to get such a fine house when he didn’t work much.
As a child she had foolishly asked him how it had happened, and he had become very angry with her. He told her that it was his house and she ought to be grateful she got to live in it, and never mind asking the questions of where it came from. Amelia never asked another question after that.
Her mother never mentioned whether or not she knew, nor would she answer if Amelia asked her why she married such a hard man. All in all, Amelia had to live her life as it was, and never wonder if there was something better out there.
Now, her heart pounded in her chest as she hurried down the hall to the kitchen. She had been certain she had made the biscuits. That was the first thing she had done the afternoon before. Where could they have gone?
“I made a whole mess of them and left them in the basket on the window.”
Amelia was already explaining herself before she got to the kitchen. She knew if she didn’t start early, he would do all of the yelling, and she wouldn’t be able to get a word in edgewise. Toby’s face was red, and he had bulges in his forehead and neck from where his veins were.
Amelia looked around the kitchen, trying to remember what she had done with the biscuits.
“You left them on the window did you? On the window?! How many times must I tell you never to leave the things on the window!? There are way too many quick fingers in this neighborhood for that, you stupid girl! Look there!”
Toby pointed out the window, and Amelia leaned over the sill to look out into the yard. There, on the ground, was the basket. There were a couple of biscuits on the grass where the thief had dropped them in his haste, but the rest of them were gone.
“I’m sorry, I thought that since I was home I would hear someone coming over the fence.”
Amelia’s voice was small. It was true, he had told her not to leave the food there on more than once occasion, but Amelia never thought that this would really happen. She was now backing to the door, hoping to avoid the lecture she knew was about to come down on her.
“You get out of this house right now, and you go straight down to the bakers! I want you to get one… no… two dozen biscuits! You go down there and you purchase those biscuits with your own money, and you get back here by four o’clock, do you understand me?!”
Toby was still yelling, and the louder he got, the redder his face got. Amelia nodded, her own face pale, and she hurried out into the street. She was in such a hurry she didn’t even put on her bonnet, and the sun beat down on her head. The dust was blowing the dry ground, and it settled in her eyes.
Amelia was always a young woman of pride, she never wanted to be seen by anyone in anything less than her best, and she now felt more embarrassed than she could describe. Her face was red with shame, feeling the stares of the other people on the street.
They all knew her step father, and many of them respected the man. They were ashamed of her for his sake, and this sight only solidified in their minds how she was. Amelia wanted to hide in the trees she passed, but she was on a mission. The time she had to be home was fast approaching, and she didn’t want to endure the wrath of Toby for being late on top of losing the biscuits.
Amelia hurried at the baker’s, and tapped her foot impatiently as the baker went to the back to fill a basket with biscuits for her.
There’s got to be more to life than all of this. This can’t be it. I’m too young for this sort of thing. I just know it.
A flood of emotions swept over her, and she felt tight in her chest. For the first time in a long time, Amelia felt something different than resignation. As she stood there, watching the doors gently swing back and forth from the baker passing through them, she realized if something was going to happen, she had to do it herself.
Life wasn’t a pile of flowers blown by the wind, and she didn’t want to end up the same way her mother had. She wasn’t going to stand for this any longer. She was going to make a change.
Amelia decided she was going to run away.
Chapter 3 – The Paper on the Wall
The baker seemed to take an eternity to get the biscuits in the basket and bring them out to her. It was getting to the point Amelia was about ready to leave without them. The only thing that kept her there was the fact she would have to deal with Toby when she got home.
He is going to be mad enough I was gone so long, I hardly dare show up again without his biscuits, or I wi
ll really be in for it.
Finally, the baker reappeared, with the basket heaping over with hot biscuits.
“I thought I would wait a few minutes to pull the fresh ones out of the fire. What do you think?”
Amelia wanted to just leave, but she couldn’t help but notice how beautiful the biscuits were on basket, and they did indeed smell quite fresh.
“Thanks so much, Mr. Cartwheel. My father is going to appreciate it more than you know.”
She always felt odd calling Toby her father. He was only that relation because he married her mother. Her real father had been gone a long time. She paid the baker and left, walking as quickly as she could with the basket full of biscuits. Although the streets were crowded, Amelia was able to walk quickly through the skirts and boots on her way back home.
Suddenly, something caught the corner of her eye. There was something on the bulletin board outside the sheriff’s office. Something that hadn’t been there before. Amelia never paid much mind to the “wanted” posters that were hung by the door, the bounty hunters were the ones who dealt with that, but she still too, note when something changed.
Every now and then she would see one of the posters come down, and she would wonder if that man was caught by one of the Georgia sheriffs, or if that outlaw had been caught in another part of the country. Time after time Amelia wondered what it would be like to be an outlaw, and longed for the freedom they had.
Of course I wouldn’t want to break the law, but it would sure be nice to be just me and the wide open stars. Miles after miles of prairie land, with nothing and nobody to nag at me.
Amelia found herself walking over to the sheriff’s, trying to get a closer look at the new paper that was posted. She laughed at herself for her fancies. Of course she didn’t want to be all alone out there on the prairie, she just wanted to be away from Toby.
[2016] A Wanting Bride Page 36
