Vivian's Morning Star

by Rachel Skatvold

  “Mrs. Vivian Kane,” she answered, before biting her lip. She should have left off the Mrs. in the store owner’s presence.

  As she feared, Mrs. Carter’s eyebrow shot up in curiosity. “I’m sorry dear. I didn’t realize you were a widow.”

  Vivian struggled to keep her composure and felt nausea returning. “Yes, well, I’m managing as best as can be expected.” The store owner tried to speak again, but she cut her off in the most polite way she could, weary of socializing for the day. “Forgive me, Mrs. Carter. I really just came in to see if any letters had arrived for me and to look for some fabric and thread. I fear I am in a little bit of a rush today.”

  “Oh, of course. Forgive me for jawing away. The fabric and thread are at the back of the store to the right. While you’re looking, I will have my daughter check for the mail.”

  Vivian managed the best smile she could under the circumstances, thanked Mrs. Carter and headed toward the display of fabrics, but the joy of the shopping trip had faded from her heart.

  Vivian was greeted by Ella’s smiling face when she returned with only a small bag of white cotton fabric and some embroidery thread. “How was your outing?”

  She could only weep and fall into her new friend’s arms once inside the door. “There weren’t any letters,” she sniffled.

  “Oh, you poor dear. What happened?”

  Vivian leaned back and dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief. “Nothing much, just Mrs. Carter asking me questions. Forgive me. I’m not usually so emotional.”

  “There is no need to apologize. When I was pregnant with Josiah, I cried at the drop of a pin.”

  She composed herself and nodded. “I guess I had just hoped a letter would come from Mr. Russell today. Perhaps he has decided not to marry me after all.”

  “Oh, I’m certain that is not the case.” A half smile curved on Ms. Milton’s lips as she patted her arm. “I believe some peppermint tea in the parlor is in order. Once you are feeling better, I have something to share with you.”

  Vivian agreed and followed Ella into the next room, questions swirling in her mind. Once they were settled on chairs with their tea, her friend’s eyes twinkled. “I wish you would have told me you were going to check for the mail while on your outing. I would have told you the post master delivers my mail directly to the house as a courtesy to my brides. The mail arrived here shortly after you departed.”

  “It did?” Vivian placed her tea on a nearby tray, heart fluttering.

  Ms. Milton nodded and pulled a letter from the end table. It had already been opened, but she carefully pulled it out again and unfolded it. “Would you like me to read it for you?”

  “Yes, please.” She sat on the edge of her seat in anticipation.

  “Dear Ms. Milton,” she started reading. “I was pleased to receive your letter and hope you and your family are doing well. After much consideration and prayer, I have decided to enter a courtship with Mrs. Vivian Kane, if she will have me. Enclosed is a separate letter for her and money for the train fare to Missouri, if she so chooses to come and meet me. My friend, Emmett Riley and his wife, Caroline, whom you know from when they used your agency services, have offered the spare room in their home for Mrs. Kane to stay in until we are wed. I know time is of the essence, but please inform her I am willing to wait for as long as she needs. Sincerely, Micah Russell.”

  Vivian could barely contain her joy and hugged Ella after she gave her the letter. “Bless you, Ms. Milton. I’m going to go read this in the privacy of my room.”

  Ella chuckled. “Go ahead. I’m happy for you.”

  She thanked her and headed up the stairs, smiling so big her cheeks began to hurt. “I praise you for this, Lord,” she whispered. “Thank you for this new beginning.”

  Vivian woke up the next morning with a song in her heart, the words of Micah’s letter still fresh. She was in such a good mood, she took a stroll around Ella’s farm before resting under a shade tree with her sketchpad in hand. Within a few minutes, the barn, cows and chickens took shape on the page.

  When Vivian finished, she took a look at her artwork and smiled, realizing it was the first time she’d sketched anything since Connor’s death. She took it as a good sign her heart was starting to heal. Although the ache of his loss still remained, she knew he wouldn’t have wanted her to mourn forever. He would have told her to move on and find happiness. Was Micah Russell her chance at finding that?

  She had been so worried he wouldn’t want to marry her after finding out she was expecting, but the fact the matter didn’t scare him away and the sweet words of his letter showed the type of man he was. Vivian wasn’t sure if she could grow to love another man. Connor had been her first and true love, but at least it would be a new beginning. The fact they had both lost a spouse put her mind at ease even further. He would understand what she was going through and perhaps God would help them both to heal through a second marriage.

  Vivian flipped back to the beginning of her sketchpad, taking time to look at each page. There were many scenes from North Carolina. She paused to study one of the ocean, remembering a trip she’d taken with Connor a year before. They’d had a picnic on the beach and spent the day gathering shells and putting their bare feet in the cool water. After that, there was another picture of Connor sitting beside her on the picnic blanket, his eyes gazing at her from the page. Vivian wished she would have added color to the drawing so she could see his hazel eyes and reddish-brown hair. She feared with time, her memory of those distinct features of her beloved husband would fade.

  Vivian shook the thought away, holding back tears as she continued flipping through pages. She saw a sketch from their train ride north—tall evergreen trees beside rivers, scenery from the Tennessee mountains and the little shops in St. Paul.

  The images stopped there and Vivian knew why. The day of Connor’s death was not something she wished to remember. Without realizing, she’d left a blank page between the old sketches and the new sketch she’d created that day. It represented those long weeks after the fire took her husband—weeks when she’d felt so numb, lost and hopeless.

  She put her hand over the blank page, biting her lip to keep the raw emotions at bay. God had never left her during those times. She realized that now. Christ had been with her the entire time. He had placed it on the St. Paul sheriff and his wife’s heart to offer her shelter. He had also helped her see the advertisement for Ms. Milton’s agency. Now He was leading her to a fresh start in Missouri.

  Vivian opened her eyes again, realizing the page shouldn’t be left blank. She took her pencil out again and soon a shape appeared—the morning star. To her mother’s tribe it was a sign of good fortune, but to Vivian it always reminded her of Christ. In the Scriptures, He described Himself as the Bright and Morning Star. Whenever she saw the star on the quilt her mother had made her, it brought hope that God would use all the hardships and tragedy in her life for good somehow. Now, whenever she saw the star in her sketchbook, Vivian would remember with Christ the Morning Star guiding her, she always had hope, even when all seemed lost.

  Chapter Five

  “The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense.”

  Proverbs 27:9 NLT

  The last Saturday in May, Vivian sipped a cup of tea in the parlor of Lottie Brooks’ lovely home. She had been kind enough to invite her to a Saturday luncheon. Most of the ladies from church were there as well, including Jenny Beckham, the town physician’s wife. Marni Prater, Rebecca Abernathy, Molly Ferrell and Nina Winthrop were also there. She was pleased when Lottie informed her they were all mail order brides. Hearing their stories gave her hope her marriage with Micah would be a happy one.

  It was the first opportunity she’d had to chat with most of the ladies in town besides friendly waves and greetings on Sunday mornings. Unfortunately, she often felt nauseated during the morning and had to leave right after the church service to lie down, but the afternoons were the times she felt most energetic. Re
cently, her morning sickness had subsided and she was grateful to start feeling like herself again. That Saturday turned out to be a good day for her and she enjoyed socializing.

  “So, you had started telling us earlier, your groom is from another state,” Lottie said, placing her tea cup aside.

  Vivian nodded. “Yes, Micah is from Niangua, Missouri.”

  Lottie’s eyes widened with recognition. “My cousin lives there. She was a mail order bride as well.”

  “How exciting! I’ll have to meet her when I arrive. What is her name?”

  “Caroline Riley.”

  Vivian grinned. “She wouldn’t be the same Caroline Riley married to Emmett Riley the carpenter?”

  “Yes! How did you know?”

  “Micah has mentioned them in his letters. He is Emmett’s assistant and they are practically family. I will be staying with them until our wedding.”

  “Well, isn’t that marvelous? We’ll practically be family.”

  Vivian released an amused chuckle at Lottie’s enthusiasm. “I love the idea of having a friend I already have something in common with. If Caroline is anything like you, I’m sure we’ll be instant friends.”

  Lottie nodded. “We look similar. Although Caroline is a little shorter and has strawberry blond hair. She is more of a tomboy than I as well,” she added with a wink. “I’ve heard her new favorite pastime is fly fishing with her eldest daughter, Felicia.”

  “Fly-fishing sounds exhilarating. I may have to try my hand at it when I arrive.”

  “On that note, it sounds like you two will be good friends. Apparently, after taking a tumble in the river, she wears waders, but don’t tell her mother that if she comes to visit. She’d be appalled at the thought of her wearing pants.”

  Everyone laughed at Lottie’s comment and then they headed into the dining room to enjoy the delicious lunch of roasted chicken and salad Miss Dash had prepared for them. Once praying over the meal, the ladies began asking Vivian for more details about her groom. She told them all she knew from his two letters, which didn’t seem like much. He was a widower with a small cabin in the woods, but made good money being an assistant in the carpentry business. In the future, he hoped to start his own printing press business, which was his true passion. They laughed when mentioning he’d admitted to not being a good cook, but thankfully she was talented in that area. He loved playing with his honorary nieces and nephews and had also expressed his enjoyment of animals, nature and reading. The ladies in the room offered nods and smiles of approval when she was done telling them about Micah.

  When dinner was cleared from the table, Lottie excused herself and then returned a few moments later pushing in a rolling cart, piled with little gifts. “I hope you don’t mind, but we wanted to have a baby shower before you leave, Vivian. All the gifts should be small enough to fit in your trunk.”

  Vivian covered her mouth as happy tears clouded her eyes. “Thank you so much! Who planned this?”

  Lottie grinned while taking her seat again. “It was Ella’s idea. I just offered to host it at Lady Slipper Cottage.”

  Vivian thanked them and wiped her eyes before starting to open the gifts. Rebecca and Nina gave her beautiful bibs, both unique in their own way with embroidered designs. Then she opened Marni’s—a pair of delicate booties, lined with yellow ribbon on the top.

  After she thanked them, Jenny pushed hers forward. “Please, open mine next. I can hardly contain myself from blurting out what’s inside.”

  “All right,” Vivian said with a chuckle before carefully unwrapping the beautiful violet paper. She almost hated to tear it. When she opened the box, she was delighted to see a little wind up music box with exotic animals rotating around in a circle, to the beat of a quiet waltz when it was opened. “Oh, this is exquisite, Jenny. I’m certain it will help me put the baby to sleep.”

  “I’m glad you like it. Zane had it in one of his old trunks. He collects little trinkets, so we have plenty of them to go around. It will be a little piece of our menagerie you can take with you to Missouri.”

  “Thank you so much. I will treasure it and plan on visiting your menagerie before I leave next week.”

  She clasped her hands together. “I hope you do. We’d be delighted to have you.”

  Vivian opened the last two gifts—a few soft infant gowns from Ella and a beautiful journal from Lottie to record her memories of the pregnancy and the baby’s arrival. The gifts were all so lovely, they left her speechless. Finally, Vivian simply thanked them all just before strawberry shortcake topped with generous dollops of whipped cream was served for dessert. She looked around the room at the beautiful women sitting at the table with her and thanked God for each of them. They had made her feel so loved and welcome during her short time in Pelican Rapids. She almost hated to leave, but knew her future awaited in Niangua.

  Most of the guests had finished their desserts when there was a commotion at the other end of the table. “Who’s pulling on the table cloth?” Rebecca exclaimed, pulling it her way to keep the food from spilling into Marnie and Nina’s laps.

  Vivian saw a furry brown head with horns right before the table cloth released and the plates, saucers and cups fell to the floor with a loud crash. The ladies barely jumped out of their chairs before getting their gowns soiled with food and drink.

  The table cloth landed on top of something jumping and bleating in an excited manner. At the same time, she heard another crash coming from the kitchen and then someone shouting.

  Lottie stood up with her hands on either side of her face. “Oh, dear…the goats are in the house!”

  Chaos ensued as the goat emerged from underneath the table cloth as if on cue and released a loud “baa.” A few ladies screamed and fled to the parlor. Then another goat rammed its way through the double doors into the dining room, directly followed by Miss Dash, her face ghostly pale. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Brooks. The kitchen door was propped open so I could bring in more wood for the cook stove and they must have squeezed their way in. I didn’t even notice until one leapt onto the counter and started chewing on the curtains!”

  Lottie nodded—her face flushed from all the excitement. “Please, run out to the barn to fetch Caleb. I’ll need help shooing them out of here.”

  Miss Dash hurried out the back door to do as Lottie asked right before a third goat chased the ladies who had previously fled back into the dining room. Now all three of the goats were in the same room wreaking havoc. Vivian backed toward the wall in surprise as a few ladies stood up on chairs to avoid the rambunctious animals who were skipping, leaping and head-butting objects in the dining room.

  Meanwhile, she caught sight of Marni putting her hands on her hips, shaking her head with a furrowed brow. Then she retreated into the kitchen, the doors swinging behind her.

  “All right, let’s try to remain calm,” Lottie shouted over the chaos. “Everyone, head out the back door and wait for Caleb to come collect the goats. They won’t hurt us. They’re just excited and probably a little scared.”

  Soon, all of them were filing out the back door, except Marni. Vivian looked around in a worried manner, hoping she wasn’t trapped in the kitchen, surrounded by half-crazed goats. However, a few moments later, things became quiet in the house.

  Marni backed out the door with some carrots in her hands. “Here goats…here goats. Follow me and you’ll get a tasty treat.” All the guests watched in amazement as the animals followed her, calm as could be. Their eyes were fixed on the carrots as they started to bleat in anticipation. When they were a good distance from the house, Marni gave them their treats and then waved her index finger at them with a stern look, like a mother who would discipline small children who’d misbehaved. “Enjoy your carrots, but remember how naughty you’ve been, Parsley, Oregano and Sage. I expected better out of you three. I wouldn’t be surprised if Mr. and Mrs. Brooks sent you right back to our farm on account of your rude behavior.”

  “Thank you, Marni,” Lottie called out. “I s
hould have known you’d know how to handle them.” Vivian and the other ladies turned to their host in confusion, causing Lottie to release an exhausted chuckle. “They’re young goats we just bought from Marni and her husband, Braden, a few days ago. We are still learning how to handle them, but we have a secure pen with a high fence. I can’t think how they would’ve escaped.”

  Just then, Caleb appeared with five-year-old Harry by his side. “It appears when Harry was feeding the goats, he accidently forgot to latch the gate behind him.”

  The little boy ran forward to hug Lottie before peeking up at her with a guilty look. “I’m sorry, Ma. I won’t do it again.”

  She smiled and hugged him a little closer. “It’s all right. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes. But now we know to make sure the gate is latched securely, right?”

  “Yes Mama.”

  “Now, how about you go with your Pa and help him put the goats back in their pen.” The boy nodded and soon he was walking away with Caleb, helping to herd the goats in the right direction.

  When they were gone, Lottie looked around at her disheveled guests standing in a semicircle in the yard and released a regretful sigh. “I’m so sorry, ladies. I assure you, my home is not usually so chaotic.”

  Molly started to giggle first. “It certainly was the most eventful baby shower I’ve ever been to.”

  After a brief pause, all the ladies started to laugh, Vivian included. A genuine laugh felt foreign coming from her lips, but it was a welcome sound after months clouded with grief. It gave her hope life would soon return to normal—at least a new kind of normal.

  A few minutes later, after everyone had composed themselves, they went back inside to inspect the condition of the house. The dining room was a complete disaster with cake, drink and dishes scattered on the floor, but to Vivian’s relief, most of Lottie’s fine china had survived the goat invasion. She only spotted one cup and a saucer that had been shattered during the ordeal. The parlor had a few things displaced and the fruit bowl in the kitchen had been toppled, leaving half-eaten apples, oranges and pears scattered on the counter and floor. The curtain was also torn from where one of the goats had chewed on it, but almost everything else in the room was still intact.