by Indiana Wake
Rena dropped her head and cried even harder, and he was completely puzzled. She broke away from his embrace and the loss was almost too much for him to bear. He wanted to pull her back, to explain, to tell her how much he had looked forward to this moment, but instead he did nothing.
Rena looked up at him. “That’s why I looked for you before wedding,” she said and then she started speaking in rapid Japanese, and Victor blinked at her before she realized her mistake.
Shaking her head, she started over, this time in English. “When you said that your house was small, I wanted to say, I don’t care. I want marriage, not wealth.” She looked at him expectantly, and he was overcome by emotion.
A single tear rolled down his hardened cheek. “Truly, Rena? You mean that?”
Rena nodded furiously. “Yes, Victor-san. I mean, Mr. Victor. My house in Japan much littler than this. I love you letters and I want happy husband, not money.”
Victor laughed and felt as if the sun was shining despite the darkness around them. “You should probably just call me Victor,” he said. “But I quite like the sound of Victor-san.”
She smiled brightly at him through her tears. He walked over and pulled her close again. “Rena, I just want us to be happy for the rest of our lives. My ranch is doing well, but it is so lonely without a woman to share it with. Your letters spoke to me and I want us to start again.” This time, he broke away from the embrace and said, “Wait here, please. I’ll be right back.”
Chapter Seven
Rena felt the loss as he turned and left. Had she got it wrong again? Surely he understood that this house was perfect, that he was perfect. That she just wanted a good man who would work hard and be happy with her?
The sound of his feet on the stairs was like the sound of her heart beating. Come back her heart seemed to say but still his steps retreated. Rena felt her legs give way and she sunk to the floor. Suddenly the weight of her trip and the momentous decision she had made to come here weighed heavily on her shoulders. What was she to do now? Where was she to go? Was it too late to find love and happiness with Victor-san? These thoughts and many more went through her mind until she heard the sound of feet on the stairs. Was it Elizabeth coming to get her out of the dress? Was she coming to tell her to leave?
The door opened and Victor stood there with a bottle of wine and two glasses. Rena wanted to stand and rush to him, but her legs would not hold her.
Victor came and sat down beside her. He raised the bottle. “We were going to celebrate the wedding with this,” he said. “But I think I’d like to celebrate you being here and to take some time to get to know my fiancée.”
Rena gasped, “The wedding!” She Scrambled to get up, but was entangled in her dress and almost fell.
Victor put out an arm to steady her and shook his head. “Don’t worry, I’ve sent a cowboy to the church, to tell the minister that something came up and we’ll have the wedding tomorrow evening or possibly even later. I want you to get to know me. To be sure that you wish to marry me before it happens. I knew from your letters that you were the one for me. I had received over thirty letters before yours… but none of them called to me like yours did. Will you give me this chance?”
“Yes,” she said and then sighed with relief. “I looked at many advertisements, but I replied only to yours. Somehow yours said more to me than the words. From your letters, I believed you to be an honorable man, hard working… a man I could love. That is all I want from a husband.” Rena finished and smiled at Victor, who gazed at his beautiful fiancée for a few seconds before smiling back.
“Rena, I’ve been wondering, why you didn’t say anything to me in the carriage?” he said as he poured wine for the two of them.
Rena frowned for a second making sure that she would say what she meant. “I don’t have the words,” She said. “I understand the English language well, but I can tell my true feelings, only in Japanese.”
He looked at her and smiled incredulously. “You mean you couldn’t think of how to tell me? Rena, I promise you… every time you speak, I will listen patiently until you can fully express what you feel. Soon, you will become fluent in our language, I know you will. And maybe,” he added shyly, “maybe you can teach me some Japanese too.”
Rena’s eyes filled with tears again, but this time, it was because she felt too much joy and she couldn’t contain it.
As they drank wine, the sky darkened and stars began to gently fill up the night. Rena suddenly remembered that night on the ship. The one she had spent watching the sky and wondering everything about Victor Montgomery. “The ocean,” she said softly.
Victor thought he had misheard her, and said, “I beg your pardon?”
And she repeated herself, louder this time, “The Ocean. What do you think of the ocean, Victor-san?”
He tried not to blush at the Japanese suffix she had personalized his name with. But it gave him great joy, He was her Victor-san and he loved her already. Then he wondered at the strange question Rena had just asked him, but he decided to answer her anyway.
“I am both humbled and frightened by the ocean. When I look out at the waves, I feel incredibly small. I feel as though I am tiny and unimportant. And that thought scares me. It makes me realize that there is so much in the world that I have yet to do, yet to see, and I wonder that even if I do all those things, will it matter?” Victor was surprised at the clarity of his thoughts and realized that it was the effect Rena had on him. She made him calm and his head was clear around her. He had been so busy thinking about this that he didn’t see Rena inch closer and closer to him until suddenly she was mere centimeters away from his face.
He looked at her, he could see the tears clinging to her long dark eyelashes, her rosy mouth was parted, and her gaze was locked straight onto his. He reached out and cupped her chin, pulling her even closer until her lips met his. Suddenly, the calm quiet was gone, replaced with the crashing of thunderous waves inside his head. She made him feel more alive than he had felt in a long time. As they kissed passionately on the rooftop, a few miles away at the dock, the sea gently lapped at the shore, reflecting the light smattering of stars in the night.
Chapter Eight
Victor pulled away before he could no longer control himself. Holding his fiancée in his arms they talked all night and stayed up on that rooftop until the sun had begun to rise. They asked questions, and laughed and learned all about each other. Soon they knew that their decision was right. Before God, they would proclaim their love and they could not wait. The golden light played with their feet and rose slowly up their bodies until it shone into the half-empty bottle of wine that sat between them.
Rena was laughing at something that Victor had said when she pushed back her hair and her turquoise encrusted comb came out in her hands, sending a cascade of thick dark hair down her back. She realized she was still in her wedding dress, and looked down suddenly to see that it was stained with wine and creased badly. “Oh no, Victor-san; the dress- ruined.” She shook her head sadly, bemoaning the fate of the beautiful dress she was to get married in.
He looked at her, and after a momentary pause, he smiled. “I think the dress has never looked more beautiful,” he said. She blushed and he smiled at her, before adding, “But I doubt Elizabeth will think the same.”
Rena laughed at that and then felt bad for Elizabeth, who had put so much effort into getting her dressed for the wedding which never actually took place.
Victor’s eyes suddenly lit up. “Rena, I have an idea,” he said jumping up.
Before Rena could ask what it was, he had scampered off back into the house. Feeling suddenly abandoned, Rena stood up and dusted off her dress, only to look up and see Victor standing in front of her again.
“I forgot something,” he said breathlessly, drawing her near and kissing her firmly. When he drew back his head, Rena almost gasped for air, and then Victor said, “Come with me.”
He took her by the hand and led her down the stairs onto
the second floor. From there he took her down the hallway and into the third bedroom of the house. The one that looked like nobody used it. He walked straight over to the cupboard in the corner, as Rena lingered in the doorway. He opened the doors and pulled out an absolutely beautiful cream-colored gown woven with lace and pearls. It had a high neckline and was cinched in at the waist making a beautiful hourglass shape. “This was my mother’s wedding dress, and it’s been hanging in here since she passed a few years ago.” He looked at her, “Rena, will you wear this to our wedding tonight?”
With a huge lump in her throat, Rena nodded earnestly and bowing before him she said, “Victor-san, I would be honored.”
Despite Victor’s prediction that Elizabeth would be upset about the dress, she was happier than he had ever seen her. She clapped her hands joyously when Victor told her what happened over breakfast while Rena tried to catch up on some sleep before the wedding later that afternoon.
Elizabeth had been working for Victor’s family since he had been a little boy, and after his mother had passed away, she had come to treat him like a son. She loved him dearly and was ready to pass that baton onto Rena, who would care for him and make him happy for the rest of his days. Elizabeth smiled mischievously at him. “If you thought she looked beautiful yesterday, wait until you see her this evening. You won’t be able to keep your hands off her after the wedding.”
Victor’s eyes widened and his ears turned bright red. “Elizabeth!” he said, but the old housekeeper merely laughed at his embarrassment before ordering him to get some sleep too.
***
Elizabeth had been right. Rena looked more beautiful than Victor could have imagined as she walked down the aisle towards him. He smiled so widely he thought his face would split, but he couldn’t stop even if he wanted to. Rena mirrored his smile as she reached the altar, and they stood there, grinning at each other like schoolchildren as the preacher said his words.
Elizabeth sat in the first pew and looked on as the two young lovebirds exchanged rings and vows, and she whispered a silent prayer to God to keep the two of them happy forever. She knew that if Victor’s mother were with them today, she would have been so proud of him, and she would have adored Rena.
Chapter Nine
Rena and Victor were as happy as they could be. Gradually little by little they came to know each other better than they knew themselves. Rena could not believe how abundant the country was. There was always food and cloth for clothes. She had become good friends with Elizabeth and one or two women in town. Had learned how to wear the strange dresses and even felt at home in them. She had even become friends with a Japanese mail order bride called Kayo. They lived close by and had become close confidants. Rena sent letters home and received back a reply. Her grandmother was so pleased and her sisters told her how happy they were for her. Maybe she should send for them? But somehow she doubted they would ever cone and there were other things she needed to do first.
Months of bliss flew by as the seasons changed from summer to a brisk fall. The leaves began to fall from the trees surrounding their house in crimson beauty and there were other changes taking place too. Victor returned from the ranch one evening to find Rena quietly seated at the table, with her little hands folded in her lap. He sat down across from her, and before he had a chance to ask her what was wrong, she burst into tears. Victor leaped from his seat and rushed to his wife’s side and held her close like he had so many nights ago on their rooftop.
“Darling, what’s the matter? Is something wrong?” he asked.
Rena shook her head and quickly wiped away her tears. She poured herself a glass of water. As she drank it, Victor worried if he had maybe been neglecting his wife, mistaking his own happiness for hers as well. He was suddenly seized with a crippling fear. What if she wanted to leave? What if she was happy, but she couldn’t bear to be away from her country and wanted to go back, even if it meant leaving him. Terrified, he held onto Rena’s hand and was pleasantly surprised when she squeezed his hand warmly.
“Victor, you don’t need to worry,” she said. “I’m crying because I love you so very much. It’s too much for me to hold and sometimes it comes out in tears.” When he looked confused, she said, “Victor-san, I’m happier than I had ever dreamed.”
He raised her hand to his lips and kissed it softly. “As am I, darling. I never imagined that I could be so in love. I don’t think I could be happier than I am right now, with you.”
At his words, Rena smiled a knowing smile. “What if I told you you’ll be happier in a few minutes?” she said with a wink.
Victor looked at her, not quite understanding, until she placed his hands on her belly and said, “Victor-san, we’re going to be parents.”
The sea began to swirl inside Victor’s head again, and he stood up so suddenly his head began to spin. “Rena, are you sure?” he almost shouted, and when she nodded, he held her face and kissed her deeply. He raised a hand to his forehead. “My,” he said. “You were right; I’m much happier now, darling.”
In his joy, he whooped and then picked Rena up in his arms as she screamed with laughter, and he carried her up to the rooftop. This was where they came now to be alone and to relive the happiness they had felt here their first night together. He put her down gently and kissed her forehead, before gazing deep into her eyes. “What do you say we name the baby Nami?”
Rena looked at him, stunned. “Wave,” she translated, and Victor smiled. She kissed him again, never having loved him more than she did at that moment.
The End.
The Not Quite Mail Order Bride
Mail Order Brides of Harmony
Loretta - Book one
By
Indiana Wake
Chapter 1
1893
Loretta peeked out the door. The narrow trail was empty in both directions. It was time to go. She pulled back into the room and took one last look around. Deep black shadows filled every corner, but she didn’t need light to see it inside her mind. The one-roomed shack was the only home she had ever known.
Old wooden crates and barrels scavenged from behind the company store stood in for any real furniture. They were used as tables or chairs as the need arose. The only real piece of furniture was the rocking chair that Ma had brought from her home when she was married.
Ma sat there now, just a blacker shadow in the room, Loretta’s newest brother rested in Ma’s arms, shuffling in an uneasy sleep.
“Ma,” Loretta choked.
“Poor babe.” Ma rocked a little quicker. “Ain’t got much milk left. Won’t be long before his tummy is pinched just like the rest of us.” Her voice was little more than a whisper so the other children didn’t wake up.
“Loretta, you got to go. There ain’t nothin here for you no more. The pittance the company gave us when your pa died ain’t goin’ to get us far.” Ma took a breath that sounded suspiciously like a sob. “I guess young John is going to have to go to the mines after all. Pa was so determined to keep you young uns out of that black pit, but we got no other choice. We got to live. Much as we don’t want to some days, there’s somthin’ inside us that makes us keep tryin’.”
Loretta rushed over and knelt beside her mother’s chair and buried her face in Ma’s lap. The rocking stilled and a thin hand began stroking her hair.
“Please don’t make me go away, Ma.” Loretta fisted her hands in the thin material of her mother’s skirt. “I don’t want to go, I can stay here and get a job, I can help.”
“No, child. You’re too pretty to stay here. Someday the company men will figure it out and you won’t be safe anymore.” Ma slid her hand under Loretta’s chin and lifted her face. Loretta could see tears glittering in the faint light from the window. “No, baby-girl. You got to go out and make a new life for yourself. Mr. Hewett sounds like a good man and he’ll take care of you. As his wife, you’ll have a good home, nice clothes, and plenty of food to eat. The good Lord has provided a way out for you, and you gotta
take it.”
“But Ma, I don’t know him. What if he doesn’t like me, or I don’t like him?” Loretta brushed at the tears clouding her vision. She didn’t want anything to blur the last look of her mother’s face.
“Likin’ or not likin’ ain’t got much use in the life of poor folks like us. Only the rich can afford to think about things like love and such. You are a good girl, you behave yourself and be respectful and kind and you’ll do fine.” Ma leaned forward to kiss her daughter’s cheek. “Now you best be off before the shift change. If the watchmen see you, they might make trouble.”
Loretta peered through the darkness hoping for one last look, but there was nothing but the faint gleam of her ma’s eyes. “I’ll send money when I can. Maybe I can convince Mr. Hewett to send for all of you. Then we’ll be together again.”
“No, baby-girl. I’ll never again leave this valley. Your pa is here, buried deep in the mine, and I won’t leave him alone in the darkness. But if you can, you find a place for your sisters and brothers. Your pa would want it that way.”
“Yes, Ma.” Loretta stood and clutched her small pack to her chest before her heart broke free. “Kiss the young’uns for me.” Then she turned, and with one last look, fled into the night.
The pale sliver of moon hanging just above the mountain did little to light her path. Loretta ran down the narrow track, silent on her bare feet. She didn’t need to see where she was going. She had run this path every day since she was old enough to go with her father to the mine. But she had never gone below the ground.
Even when she was old enough to work, pa never let her ride that terrifying elevator into the tunnels. Other children went down. The ones that were allowed to attend the company school and learn their letters returned to the school in fewer numbers every year. The boys were sent into the mine, their small bodies in high demand for crawling into the tight spaces too small for grown men. The girls stayed home with their mamas to care for younger siblings while the mothers took in washing to earn a few pennies a week.
