***
Mack felt a surge of joy course though him. She wanted what he did—they just went about it in different ways. But the fact that she wanted to try was the important thing. It gave him hope and calmed some of the nerves at the thought of being a father to a child he hadn’t known existed. Together, if they both fought for the same things, they could accomplish much.
“Good,” he finally said, stepping closer. On impulse he reached out and took her hands in his. They were delicate and soft, smooth without the wear and tear of everyday use for difficult tasks. They were different in every way from his.
He looked into her eyes and saw openness in her. It was beautiful and drew him toward her. He wanted to be close to her.
“Mack,” she said, her voice almost a whisper. “I’m scared.”
He frowned. “About what? Me?”
“No,” she said, laughing, “About being a mother.”
“Well good.” His words drew a sharp look from her. “I'm scared about being a father. We can learn to be parents together.”
“But first, let’s learn to be friends.”
Her words surprised him but he nodded slowly. “I think that’s a good idea.”
“You do?”
“Yes.” He lifted one of her hands up and kissed the knuckles. “I know we’re as different as night and day. I’ve grown up in the West. You in the East. And we are trying to merge together a lot of thoughts, feelings, and emotions, but I want you to know right off the bat that I'm determined to do my best by you,” he paused, “And the little one.”
“I am sorry,” she said. Her voice was even softer this time. Filled with regret. He knew she was saying sorry not for just deceiving him but for everything—for how she had acted up until this point, for the anger she had sent his way, for it all.
“All is forgiven,” he said, then leaned down and kissed her on the cheek.
He wanted to press his lips to hers, but he would wait. They were a long way from being comfortable with one another. Sure, they might get along now that the lies were out in the open and nothing else would be in the way, but it would take time before they fully trusted one another.
“And we can look at it this way,” he added, “God has brought us together for a purpose.”
She smiled, nodding her agreement.
Then, standing next to his wife pregnant with what he would claim as his child, he thanked the Lord for His gracious provision. It wasn’t what he’d expected, but as Pastor Tobias had said, God had greater reasons than he, a mere man, could ever fathom.
Chapter 6
Several months later
The pain came sharp and intense, shocking Effie. Her hand flew to her stomach as she stood at the stove mixing up hotcake batter for breakfast. Mack was out at the barn doing chores as she got ready for the day. It was a routine they had slipped into and she like the familiarity of it. The comfort of knowing how things would go each morning.
She was still shy around him, but the months had taken away the fear and the difficulty of not knowing one another. Each and every day Mack proved to be kinder, more gracious, and more loving that any man Effie had ever known. In comparison to Ronald…well, she couldn’t compare the two because there was almost nothing similar about the men. Where Ronald had sought out what he wanted, Mack was more concerned with what she wanted.
Doubling over in pain again, she let out a cry. The baby was coming and she wasn’t ready. Or maybe she was, but it was hard to know. She felt confident that Mack would be a good father, but would she be a good mother?
The door flew open and Mack stood there looking shocked. “Effie, what’s wrong?”
“The…baby—” she managed.
“Is something wrong?”
“No, it’s coming!” she shouted out the last part as another contraction clenched her midsection.
“I’ll send Hank for the doctor.” And he was gone.
Part of her wished he hadn’t left, but there was nothing she could do, at least not immediately. Instead of sitting down and waiting for the pain to come she continued what she was doing. She felt foolish, but when she was cooking or cleaning or doing anything other than waiting for the excruciating pain, her mind was kept busy.
Mack came back in soon and tried to get her to sit down but she wouldn’t listen. He stood, watching her, wringing his hands, and jumping to her side when the pains came, but then stepping back to let her be until she called for him again.
It all flew by in a blur once the doctor showed up, his calm and confident manner making her feel assured. He sent Hank out to pump more water and they got down to the business of having a baby.
***
Mack paced back and forth, the reality that his child was coming into the world sending jolts of excitement and terror though him in equal parts. It was amazing that, over the last several months, he had started to think of the child as his own.
It didn’t matter that the father was someone else. It only mattered that he would love the baby as if it was his own and he would always think of the child as his. A scream came from inside and he ran a shaky hand through his hair. It felt like ages since Effie had gone into labor. Just how long would this take?
In answer to his unspoken question the door flew open and the doctor motioned him inside, a grin on his face.
“Congratulations.” His kind eyes sparkled up at Mack. “It’s a boy.”
Mack’s entire body felt like it was on fire from exhaustion and excitement. A son? He had a son!
He rushed to the back of the small home to see Effie propped up on pillows, a small bundled held in her arms. She looked up at him and, when their eyes met, he saw genuine happiness written there.
“It’s a boy,” she said. She sounded tired, but happy. He couldn’t imagine the pain she’d gone through, but he was just happy to see her healthy and hear that their baby was all right too. “Come and see him.”
Carefully, almost tiptoeing up in case he would wake the child up, he came forward and sat down on the bed next to her. She lowered her arms and the wrinkly head of the small baby came into view. His little eyes scrunched up then relaxed as if he’d struggled against unseen forces and then won the battle.
“He’s beautiful,” Mack said, feeling the moisture of tears in his eyes.
“He is isn’t he?” Effie said.
One glance told Mack that she was just as enamored with the child as he was—probably more so.
“How are you?” he asked.
Her eyes met his. “Tired. But all right.”
They held each other’s gaze for longer than necessary and he felt the pressure of words he needed to say. Things he had wanted to say for months now but that he’d held back. He hadn’t wanted her to think he was just saying them because he had to. But now was the perfect time, their son in her arms between them.
“Effie,” he began, swallowing with the force of the emotions he was feeling, “I have to tell you something, and you need to know that I mean it with all of my heart.”
“All right,” she said, a small smile lifting the corner of her mouth.
Before he spoke, he reached up and tucked a stray curl of hair behind her ear. She was exhausted, pale, and her hair still held the remnants of sweat, but to him she was beautiful.
“I want you to know that, no matter what, I will always love our son and,” he paused, making sure she could see the truth in his eyes, “And I love you. Very much.”
Now she had tears in her eyes, but they were from joy, that much he could tell. This time she wasn’t going to run off in a torrent of emotions, she was going to sit there in front of him and let him see all of her.
“I love you too, Mack.” She cupped his face with her hand. “You have been so kind to me—to us—and I can never repay you. I know I don’t need to. I hope that my love can be enough.”
“It is more than enough. It’s all that I want.”
Then he leaned forward, careful not to crush their son between them, and he kis
sed her with passion, showing her he meant everything he’d said and so much more.
When they broke apart she was ginning. “There’s one very important thing left for you to do.”
“What’s that?” he asked with a frown.
“Name your son.”
He felt the weight of responsibility at her words but knew it was an honor she wanted to give him. To show him her trust and the fact that they truly were a family.
Looking down at the little on in her arms he thought back to how God had provided for them. Then it came to him and he knew exactly what he would name the boy.
“Let’s call him Nathan. It means ‘gift of God’ and I think that is exactly what he is.”
She smiled, the tiredness momentarily gone from her features as she nodded in agreement with him.
“It’s perfect.”
Mack shifted on the bed so he was sitting next to her and could warp his arm around his wife as she held their son. And they rested there, Mack thanking the Lord for his provision and of a family that he could not only provide for, but love as well.
THE END.
The Christmas Orphan
Mail Order Bride
CHRISTIAN MICHAEL
Bianca Cassidy tried to put on a brave face while being offered the condolences of so many people lined up at the receiving line. The shock was only just starting to wear off. As much as she tried to control them, her eyes kept straying to the two large wooden caskets lined up neatly beside each other. Inevitably, her gaze would eventually land on the smaller one next to them.
God, what am I going to do?
“Thank you for coming, Mrs. Casey. I really appreciate it.”
“Oh my dear! You poor thing!” the little rotund woman sniffled into her lace handkerchief. “To lose your family like this!”
Yeah, you’re really not helping me out right now!
But of course, she couldn’t say that out loud. Bianca just nodded and hoped her smile didn’t appear too pinched. She wished it were all over. She was ready to go to her room, shut the door and bury herself under her covers.
An orphan. That’s what I am now. And I don’t even have little Betty anymore. And those two vultures! How dare they just waltz into our house like they own it and think to stay! Oh for shame!
Her aunt, Jessy, and her greedy cow of a husband, Gerald, had moved into her house like they owned it. When her parents were still living Jessy and Gerald wanted nothing to do with them, believing themselves too good to mess with “common folk” like May and Jim. But all that had changed when Papa had been lucky enough to strike a line of gold in the mines just two months ago. Overnight their fortunes had changed and there was now talk of getting an education for Bianca – and a good husband – and raising little Betty up right and in style. Her parents were generous souls who gave to anyone in town who was in need, even when they had little. When they became wealthy, they gave even more generously than before. They were beloved by everyone.
When Jessy and Gerald heard of the news, they had become like flies in honey with Mama and Papa. And the poor souls had swallowed their sap, never questioning why the two vultures were all of a sudden proud to call them family. Bianca knew better. She also knew that Jessy and Gerald would soon try to marry her off to some poor fellow far away so they could keep all the money for themselves. She had heard them talk about it just the night before.
At twenty-one, Bianca knew that she was pretty much on the shelf. When they were poor, no man wanted anything to do with her even though she was widely regarded as a beauty. When they became rich, all the eligible men began to flock to their door. But Bianca refused to let her head turn for some man who was just after her newfound money. She was a practical soul. She knew that they did not truly want her. And as soon as she realized Jessy and Gerald were planning to stay, she had gone to Mama’s hiding place and took the “rainy day” cash that was stored in the little cubby under the floor. She hid it in her bodice and rushed to her bedroom; there she was astonished to find four thousand dollars in her hands. It seemed more than enough to last a lifetime if she was careful with it. She could even live a little lavishly if she saw fit. Bianca had secretively hidden the funds in the bottom of her trunk under some old scraps of paper. No one would ever be the wiser should some be snooping.
Now as she stood with Jessy and Gerald at the funeral, she was glad that she had taken the money when she had. No doubt, the vultures would go through the rest of Mama and Papa’s money in no time at all. And their plans for Bianca surely did not include any mercy or generosity.
I wish they were still here. Oh why did you even have to go to that place, Papa? If you hadn’t, all of you would still be here now.
When Papa had struck gold in the mine that everyone had thought to be useless and dry, he went out and bought it that same day. Since no one knew the value hidden in it, he practically got it for the price of dirt. Then, when he began to mine the gold, the cave’s value had soared and many people desired to buy it from him. Rather than sell, he instead took up position as an overseer of the mines and hired others to do the work for him.
The day Bianca saw him for the last time, he had gone over to speak to the foreman about opening up another cave, connected to his own, that had just been discovered. Mama and Betty had gone with him because they were going to go shopping later for the annual town Fall Picnic and Dance. Bianca had opted to stay home due to a headache.
When she woke up from her noon nap, and discovered no one was home, she decided to go to town herself to join her mother and sister in shopping. On the way, she saw several people milling towards the mines on the edge of town. When she heard the dreaded words “cave in” fall from the lips of several people, she threw caution to the wind and made her horse gallop there in a frenzy.
Everything was still a blur in her mind. The only thing she remembered clearly was seeing Papa, Mama and Betty lying still and lifeless on the ground. Dr. White’s old and cloudy blue eyes filled with tears when he saw her. Bianca did not scream or cry. She slowly and unsteadily made her way over to her family. She sank to the ground, placing her head and arms on Papa’s chest for the last time. She laid there until the undertaker came to take them away.
Now here I am, alone, without a clue of what to do.
The funeral ended and the crowds made their out. The bodies of Mama, Papa, and little Betty had all been laid to rest in their graves. Bianca was back home, in her room while the Vultures were downstairs. She slowly pulled off her clothes and dressed in her regular woolen dress and stockings before getting into bed. She needed to sleep. When she woke, she would face her future again.
That evening, Jessy, Gerald and Bianca all sat down for dinner. Jessy rang the bell for the servants to bring in the food. It was an aspect of life Bianca was not used to. Even after they had money, the family still preferred to live humbly. Mama had hired a maid to help her cook and clean but she had also done a lot of the work herself. And she continued to serve the food to her family by herself as she had always done. Jessy though, loved to play Lady of the Manor. She lorded herself over the maids and demanded that they wait on her and serve her. Gerald had already set plans in motion for a contractor to come and discuss building a grand home for them because he absolutely refused to live in the “hovel” that Papa had built with his own hands, any longer than necessary.
Over dinner, Jessy pushed some ads under Bianca’s nose.
“Here, Be-Be dear. Take a look at these. Gerald and I think it is high time you are married. Why, you are twenty-one now – almost twenty-two! You are an old maid and no one here wants to marry you – trust me, we asked – you’re too old for their tastes.”
Bianca nodded silently. She refused to rise to Jessy’s baits. What was the use anyway? The two of them desperately wanted rid of her and marriage would be the most logical method to make it happen. As Bianca perused the ads, she saw that they were all for mail-order brides.
It’s not enough that I be married, they want to
ship me across the country?
“We hired an agent to help you select a man,” Gerald said as he wiped his chin of gravy. “He will be here tomorrow.”
Select a man? As if I am choosing a horse?
“You should be grateful girl,” he we went on. “We’re settling quite a sum on you – one hundred dollars, in fact – so that, if you’re lucky, your age won’t be too much of a deterrent.”
If you’re lucky, you mean? If I am out of the way, and some other man’s property and burden, you will have your hands all over Papa’s money after all.
Bianca smiled calmly, but inside she was seething.
“When will this agent be coming by?”
“He will be here tomorrow morning” was Jessy replied.
“Then, if you will excuse me,” Bianca said, pushing away her plate. “I will like to get an early night and go through these ads before he is to arrive.”
Mr. Renault, a wiry man, appeared at the front door at the stroke of nine the next morning. Bianca swallowed her nervousness and rose from the settee to greet the man as he was shown in by one of the new servants. She waited patiently while Jessy gushed over the man before inviting him to take a seat.
“Now, Ms. Bianca, your aunt here tells me you want to be a mail-order bride on the frontier. That’s very courageous of you. Very courageous. We need young women like you to stand up with those brave men to settle the new lands we have acquired. ‘From sea to shining sea’ indeed!”
Bianca smiled politely and murmured what she hoped sounded like an agreement.
“Yes,” Mr. Renault coughed into his palm, “let’s begin then, shall we?”
As he spoke, the man began to place several small photographs on the table, explaining a little about each man: where they were, what they did, and what kind of woman they were looking for and so on.
[2016] Widowed and Pregnant Page 49
