I hope the remainder of your studies go well. Have a good week.
Meredith
***
Meredith paced the road, becoming more agitated by the minute. If Luke didn’t happen along soon, there wouldn’t be any daylight left, and they’d lose out on the opportunity entirely.
Finally she saw his familiar stride up ahead, even though she couldn’t make out his features yet. As soon as he was within earshot, she called out, “Want to go fishing?”
He looked up at the sky as he drew closer. “Fishing? You realize what time it is?”
“I know—it’s getting late. But I start working for Mrs. Crosby tomorrow, and if we don’t go now, it could be ages, and that would be terrible. What took you so long, anyway?”
“Mr. Phelps had me pull out some old stumps today. Took a while.”
“Then you’re ready to have some fun.” She reached out and caught his hand. “Let’s go.”
He looked down at their joined hands, then back up to meet her gaze. “What’s going on, Meredith?”
“I want to go fishing.”
“No, I don’t think you do.” He let go of her hand and led her over to the side of the road, where a fallen log made a perfect natural bench. They sat down, and he leaned forward on his elbows. “So, why are you really out here?”
“Why am I out here waiting for you to come home from work, like I’ve waited for you a ton of times before?”
“Meredith.”
His tone of voice told her it was time to come clean. She leaned forward too, even though she knew it was hardly ladylike, and sighed. “Everything has changed between us, Luke. When I saw you in town yesterday and you nodded at me instead of coming over to talk . . . I wish we could go back in time somehow. I miss you. I miss our friendship. I thought that maybe if we went fishing, we could get some of that back.”
“I miss you too, and I’m sorry that things have changed, but I’m not sorry for telling you how I feel. It’s out in the open now, and we don’t have unrealistic expectations anymore.”
“But does that mean that we can’t still be friends?” Meredith was beyond frustrated. She wanted to cry, and she hated that she wanted to cry. “Luke, you’re important to me. I’m sorry that it can’t be in the way you want, but I need you in my life. No one is as dear to me as you are.”
Luke didn’t answer for a long time, and Meredith felt as though her chest was being crushed. If she lost his friendship over something as ridiculous as love, it would be the worst thing that had ever happened to her. Why couldn’t these things be much simpler?
“You realize that the fish are probably asleep for the night, all tucked up in their little fish beds,” he said at last.
She grinned. “Are you sure we can’t convince them to sneak out?”
He looked heavenward and shook his head. “Fine, we’ll go fishing. But I want to make my position very clear. I think this is a waste of time, and I’m only going because I’ve missed you too. This has been a very long week.”
Meredith laughed and grabbed his hand, pulling him to his feet. “I knew you’d come around. You always do.”
“Yes, I give in to you quite a lot, and I’m going to have to stop that one of these days. I’m not convinced you’re a good influence on me.”
“I beg your pardon?” Meredith tried to be offended, but she was so relieved that Luke seemed to be acting like himself again, all she could do was smile. “Well, wait until you’ve caught a whole string of fish, and you’ll be thanking me.”
***
Sidney Atwell looked up from the newspaper as Meredith entered the kitchen, her dress completely soaked around the bottom six inches, holding up several fish in her right hand.
“Are you hungry?” she asked him, nodding toward her catch.
“Not at the moment. Your mother fixed a fine supper, which you missed.”
“I’m sorry, Father. Luke and I went fishing, and he didn’t think they’d bite, but I proved him wrong.” She looked down at the floor and noticed that she was leaving a little puddle. “I’d better get this cleaned up before Mother sees me.”
Sidney rose from the table. “Give the fish to me and go change. I’ll get the water off the floor too.”
“Thank you!” She handed off her smelly burden and did her best to tiptoe across the room, hoping that would reduce how much water she left behind, but it was no use. It squelched out of her shoes with every step. It wouldn’t have if Luke hadn’t pushed her into the stream as they walked home. Her shoes would take a day or two to dry out, but she had another pair, and it was worth it to see him laughing and joking again. Only once or twice did he seem awkward about being with her, when something was said that reminded them about the shift in their relationship, and then they were able to laugh about something new. They’d be all right—she was certain of it.
She put on a dry dress and a new pair of stockings, then pulled on her house slippers and went back to the kitchen. Jemima stood there, her hands on her hips, looking at the pot of fish now sitting in the center of the table.
“And this is why you missed dinner?” she asked.
“I’m sorry. I just couldn’t pass up a chance for some fun. I start working for Mrs. Crosby tomorrow, and this just felt like one last moment of childhood.”
Jemima exhaled and shook her head. “Well, at least Luke already gutted them. One less thing for me to worry about.”
Meredith looked down at the floor. “I actually did the gutting, Mother.”
“What? You did the gutting? Where did you learn how to do that?”
“From Luke, of course.”
Jemima shook her head again. “I try to raise young ladies, and what do I get?”
Meredith put her hand on her mother’s shoulder. “You were going to gut them to cook them, weren’t you? What’s the difference?”
“The difference is that I’m an old housewife and you’re a fresh young girl who should be keeping your hands pretty and learning what it means to be a woman in society.”
Meredith laughed. “So once you’re an old housewife, you don’t get to be pretty anymore? I don’t believe that, Mother. I think you’re one of the prettiest women I know.”
Jemima waved her hand. “Go on with you now,” she said, even though she looked pleased. “There’s some bread and butter and leftover soup. You’ll need to warm it up—it was hot during dinnertime, but the later you are, the colder it gets.”
“I don’t mind warming it up.”
Meredith watched her mother out of the corner of her eye while she heated her soup. True, Jemima wasn’t very fashionable, but she had a quiet strength that made her infinitely beautiful. That was the only kind of beauty Meredith really wanted.
Chapter Eight
“There now. How’s that?” Meredith asked Mrs. Denning, who stood in front of the full-length mirror in the corner.
Mrs. Denning looked at herself critically, turning to all sides. “Much better,” she said after a long pause. “You must understand, my dear, that when a woman gets to be of my particular girth, the way a dress fits is different than it would be for a woman who is . . . shall we say . . . smaller.”
Meredith smiled. “I do, and thank you for allowing me to adjust the waistline. If you’ll go ahead and change back into your street clothes, I’ll have these changes made for you by noon tomorrow.”
“That will do very well.”
Meredith stepped out of the room and pulled the door closed behind her to allow Mrs. Denning some privacy. As she walked toward the front of the store, Mrs. Crosby motioned her over to the display corner.
“You mustn’t mind Mrs. Denning,” Mrs. Crosby whispered. “The doctor believes she’s expecting twins, and she’s not very amused by that.”
“I did think she’d gained a bit of weight since our last fitting, but I didn’t realize,” Meredith replied. “Is she going to have me alter the dress again when she picks it up tomorrow?”
“I don’t think she’ll have gr
own that much overnight, but then again, you never know,” Mrs. Crosby said with a titter. “You might expand the waist just a bit more than you planned just to be on the safe side.”
The women laughed quietly, and then Mrs. Crosby grabbed Meredith’s arm. “He’s back.”
Meredith glanced around. “Who’s back, Mrs. Crosby?”
“There’s a young man outside, staring at the shop. I noticed him through the window when you first took Mrs. Denning to try on her dress. Then he walked away, but now there he is again. What do you suppose he wants?”
“Most likely, he wants to buy a dress,” Meredith replied, full of good humor. She’d enjoyed this past month of working with Mrs. Crosby. The sewing was sometimes backbreaking, but her employer was kind, and Meredith had no complaints. “Let me take a look.”
Mrs. Crosby stepped to the side, and Meredith peered out the window. Her heart gave a wild leap as soon as she saw just who the young man in question was. “Please excuse me for a moment,” she said, gathering up her skirts and racing for the door.
“Alex!” she cried out as soon she stepped outside. She probably should have approached him more demurely, but she wasn’t feeling very demure at the moment.
“Hello, Meredith!” He took three long strides and reached out to clasp her hand. “You look wonderful.”
“Thank you. You look rather well yourself. Being a college graduate must agree with you.” He had grown a very small mustache, and he looked even more dashing now.
“I believe it does, and I can’t wait to go home and show Grandfather what I’ve made of myself.”
Meredith raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t go home before coming here? Alex, we’ve had this conversation, if you recall. Topeka, where you live, is between Lane University and here. Why didn’t you stop in for a day or two before heading this way?”
He grinned and reached out to tug one of her ringlets. “Because as anxious as I am to see my grandparents, I wanted to see you more.”
She tried to ignore how that made her feel. Gracious, if she wasn’t careful, she’d have a heart attack right there on the street. “If you wanted to see me so badly, why didn’t you come into the shop instead of standing out here and staring at the place?”
“Because,” he said, lowering his voice, “ladies’ dress shops are always filled with ladies.”
She leaned forward and lowered her voice as well. “And why is that a bad thing?”
“I just wasn’t sure if it was appropriate for a man to go barging in there. But in the very moment that I was screwing up my courage, out you came and saved me.”
“Well, I’m glad my timing was so precise.” Meredith smiled up at him, wondering if he could see how very happy she was that he was there. “I need to finish some things in the shop. Will you find enough to do until I’m done?”
“I’ll take my things to the Camerons’, as I’m staying there. Is Cissie engaged yet?”
“No, and she’s nearly livid about it too. She says that if Edward doesn’t propose by Thanksgiving, she’ll do it for him regardless of how badly it would scandalize her mother.”
Alex laughed. “And she would, too. What time are you finished here?”
“I’ll be done at four.”
“I’ll be back at four, then.” He touched the brim of his hat and walked away, and Meredith watched him go, her heart still pounding as though it wanted out of her chest. She’d known he was graduating soon, but she hadn’t fixed the date firmly in her mind, and she’d never dreamed that he’d come here before he even went home. She’d never heard of anything more romantic in all her life.
***
“It’s a good thing I know what a quick worker you are as a general rule,” Mrs. Crosby said, peering over Meredith’s shoulder. “I believe you’ve been working on that seam for a good long time now.”
“I’m so sorry, Mrs. Crosby,” Meredith said, shame flooding her. “I just . . . well, I’m a little distracted.”
“Yes, I can see that, and I can guess why. He’s rather handsome.”
Meredith nodded. “And he’s come all this way from college to see me without even stopping by home first.”
“My. That is quite a compliment.” Mrs. Crosby fixed her with a look. “You’re not going to be very productive the whole rest of the day, are you?”
Meredith wanted to rally and say that she’d do much better from then on, but she knew that wasn’t possible. “I’m sorry. I’m afraid my mind’s somewhere else.”
“Very well. Why don’t you take the afternoon off, and after you’ve spent some time with your young man, perhaps your mind will come back here and you can catch up on your work tomorrow.”
Meredith had already stood up while Mrs. Crosby was talking. “Thank you so much. I promise I’ll be much more productive when I come back.”
“I was young and in love once too, you know.” Mrs. Crosby chuckled. “Just remember that you do have customers waiting for your work.”
“Absolutely. Thank you!”
Meredith grabbed her hat and dashed out of the shop, wondering if it was at all possible to catch Alex before he reached the Camerons’ home. But he’d left quite a while before, and even though she kept a good pace the whole way, she reached her friends’ door without seeing him.
She took a moment to smooth her curls before knocking, hoping she wasn’t so out of breath that she’d look more like a tomboy than a young lady. She needn’t have worried, though, because it was Cissie who answered the door, and she grabbed Meredith’s hand and dragged her straight upstairs before she saw any sign of Alex.
Cissie closed her bedroom door and leaned against it. “You’re not going to believe this. You’re just simply not going to believe this.”
“Well? What is it?”
Cissie put one hand on her chest. “I was downstairs a little while ago, and Jonathan and Alex were talking in the kitchen, and I heard Alex asking Jonathan questions about your father—specifically, if Jonathan thought your father would have any objections to him proposing.”
“Oh.” Meredith sat on the edge of the bed, the strength nearly gone from her knees. “He’s been talking about our futures, but bringing my father into it . . . that makes it real, doesn’t it?”
Cissie flopped onto the bed next to Meredith. “Of course it’s real! You don’t think a man like Alex would joke about something like this, do you? He’s going to be a businessman. He has a reputation to maintain. If word got out that he was teasing young women into falling in love with him and then not marrying them—well, it would be the ruination of his good name.”
“You’re right.” Alex had always been serious—she’d never had reason to doubt him. She’d only doubted because it was all so sudden.
“So what are you going to say? Of course you’ll say yes!”
“I don’t know if I’m ready to say anything. Maybe I should wait until he asks me.” Meredith smiled at the pout on Cissie’s face. “Where is he now?”
“My father wanted to show the boys his new saddle, so they’re out in the barn.”
Meredith stood and walked over to the mirror that hung above Cissie’s washbasin. Her hair wasn’t as mussed as she feared, and by now, her breathing had returned to normal. “How do I look?”
“You look like a girl who’s about to be proposed to,” Cissie said, walking up next to her and wrapping her arm around her shoulders. “I couldn’t be happier for you.”
Just then, Meredith heard a door close downstairs, and the sound of men’s voices. “They’re coming back in,” Cissie said. “Let’s go down.”
Meredith took a deep breath. Even though she’d seen Alex just a few hours before, suddenly she was nervous, like she hadn’t seen him at all and had no idea how he felt about her. “All right,” she said. “Let’s go down.”
Chapter Nine
Alex took Meredith’s hand and tucked it through his arm as they strolled around the Cameron property. “I’m glad you were able to get the rest of the afternoon off. I
didn’t like the idea of having to wait to see you again.”
“Mrs. Crosby decided that I was going to be a worthless mess if she didn’t let me go. I didn’t ask for the time off,” Meredith replied.
“Well, however it came about, I’m glad. Seeing you today . . . it was like the sun breaking through a cloudbank. I couldn’t believe how much I’d missed you.”
She turned to face him. “But why? Why did you miss me so much when we’ve only just met?”
He smiled. “It’s like I’ve told you. I’ve known from the first moment that I would be in love with you for the rest of my life.” They passed under the shade of a large oak tree on the corner of the property. He paused, bringing them both to a stop.
“I know this is sudden, but I’ve always believed that life’s too short to waste a single minute of it. Meredith, I’ve made no secret of my feelings, and you’re probably quite tired of hearing me talk about them. In fact, it’s about all I’ve talked about since we met. I love you, and I want to marry you and take you back to Topeka with me. When I think about my future, I see you by my side through it all, and I hope you can see that too. Will you marry me?”
Meredith’s heart had stopped beating about halfway through his speech, and it jolted back to life with a desperate thud. “I . . . I beg pardon? You want to marry me now? Take me back to Topeka with you now?”
“Well, in a few days. Right now really would be a little too sudden.” He gave her a grin, the one that seemed to melt away all her resistance. “I ought to give you time to pack a trunk at least.”
“But why . . . why the rush? I thought perhaps we could get married in a few months, after you’re settled in at the business and I’ve had a chance to plan the wedding.”
Alex reached out and stroked her jawline. “We could do that, but what would we gain? If we were married now, we could start our lives together immediately. We don’t need a lavish wedding—just a simple affair here with your pastor. My grandparents wouldn’t be able to come for it—my grandmother can’t travel, and my grandfather wouldn’t leave her side. Really, as long as we have your family and friends, we have everything we need.”
Meredith's Mistake (Grandma's Wedding Quilts Book 4) Page 5
