Reuben

by Lynn Donovan

  Mrs. Lantern softly played lovely tunes at the piano while the people of Lantern entered and found seating. Soon the music changed, and two young ladies walked slowly down the aisle. Anushka assumed they were friends of the brides. Then the music changed again to attention-getting staccato notes followed by a wedding march. Everyone stood and turned to watch the two brides who floated elegantly, arm in arm toward the front. Anushka had heard about this. Both girl’s biological fathers had died in the American Civil War and they decided to walk each other down. It was so different from the India-style wedding, but lovely just the same.

  Anushka dabbed at tears she couldn’t help but shed. Her own daughter deserved this same happiness that glowed on these two brides’ faces. Even though the Khan and Singh families sat toward the back of the sanctuary, Anushka noticed Reuben Featherstone’s constant glances toward her daughter. Karena smiled and ducked her head a few times. Thind sat stoically beside her, seemingly unaware of Reuben’s interest in his fiancée. Or… Anushka considered… he had no jealousy toward their flirtatious glances, because his heart belonged to another. This truly would not do. Her daughter deserved to be loved fully, not out of duty or obligation. Anushka pursed her lips. She had to convince these two fathers that their children were not right for each other.

  Anushka leaned toward Bhagat. “Look at the depth of their love.”

  He turned to her with furrowed brow. “Beg pardon?”

  “Those two couples up there. Look at how deeply they are in love.”

  Bhagat turned to peer at the couples each holding hands and gazing into each other’s eyes. They were speaking promises as prompted by the preacher. Now that Anushka had pointed it out, Bhagat gave a half smile. “Yes. These Americans marry for their emotional attachment rather than familial alliances.”

  Anushka paused a moment. “Is it so bad to make such commitments based on the heart’s choice?”

  “For the Americans, I suppose it is not such a bad thing.”

  Anushka nodded to herself. A chink in his armor. There was a slight possibility she could help the children get relief from this ancient tradition.

  The weddings concluded and the two couples were each pronounced Man and Wife. They ran down the aisle, grinning like the crazy-in-love fools that they were, and the people all stood to leave the sanctuary. A community dinner was set up on the church lawn, and one of the brides changed out of her pretty dress. She came back in a traveling gown. Were they leaving town that night? Anushka had heard one of the twins was moving to Boston, Massachusetts to attend Harvard Medical College. She assumed by the bride’s change in clothing they would be leaving on the east bound train that came through this evening.

  While Reuben kept a polite distance from Anushka’s daughter and Thind, he subtly maintained a constant vigilance on her. If that girl were to stumble and fall, Anushka had no doubt, Reuben would be at her side to catch her before Thind even realized she’d tripped. No fault of Thind’s, he dutifully remained near Karena, speaking to the people who greeted him, but it was obvious… so very obvious… who was in love with Karena and who was here because it was expected of him.

  As the sun traversed the sky, the couples ate dinner, cut and ate wedding cake, toasted and were toasted by those who wished them well, and at last, separated. One twin brother took his bride to the Lantern Hotel for their honeymoon, and the other took his bride to the train station. The wedding attendees followed the latter to say goodbye at the depot. A wagon had been decorated with old shoes and tin cans for their ride across town. The bed held two large trunks. This was their move to Boston, rather than a honeymoon retreat. Other Featherstone brothers off-loaded the trunks and porters for the train stacked them along with other luggage to be loaded once the train arrived in Lantern.

  Anushka and Darsheel stood back from the immediate families and loved ones, watching as what seemed like the entire town hugged and kissed the couple. More trunks were stacked next to the others as more people registered to board the east bound train. Karena and Thind, Anushka and Darsheel, and Bhagat waited patiently for the departure.

  A man hollered, a horse whinnied. It pulled a small wagon but reared up on its hind legs as if frightened by something. A man swung a long whip, cracking it over the horse’s backside. The horse landed and ran wildly toward the crowd of people, grazing the stack of trunks, and broke free of the harnesses that held him to the wagon. The wagon ran aimlessly into the trunks and the horse charged across the railroad tracks. The trunks toppled, coming down right where Anushka and Karena stood.

  Reuben leapt out of nowhere and blocked the towering trunks from crashing onto Anushka and Karena’s heads. Thind realized what was happening, pushed Karena away and grabbed Anushka’s arm to pulled her further away from the avalanche of large cases. Darsheel stared at the entire chain of events that almost hurt Anushka and his daughter, then awoke from the shocked stupor and rushed to them.

  “Are you all right?” Darsheel yelled.

  “Yes.” Anushka turned to see if Karena was all right. She seemed shaken up but unharmed. Reuben was at her side, examining her arms and shoulders to be sure she had not been hurt by the falling trunks. He looked at Anushka, running his eyes over her for signs of injury.

  Doctor Honor O’Mallory, Reuben’s mother, rushed up to them. She touched Karena and then Anushka as if to be certain they had not been injured. “Are you injured? Do you feel any pain?”

  “Frightened, yes. Injured, no.” Anushka assured the woman doctor.

  Darsheel, Bhagat, and Thind approached Reuben. Darsheel shook his hand. “If it were not for your keen attention, my wife and daughter would have been severely hurt. Thank you.”

  Anushka smiled. She knew it would take something greater than herself to convince her husband and Bhagat that Reuben Featherstone was an honorable man. Was this incident enough to convince Darsheel and Bhagat?

  Thind waited for the fathers to step away from Reuben, then he approached him, extending his hand as if to thank him with a handshake. Embarrassed by all the accolades, Reuben took his proffered hand. Thind pulled him in close, stern and serious, leaning near Reuben’s ear. “Can we talk?”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Reuben paused. Talk? What could Thind Singh want to talk to him about? Reuben halted the handshake. The gesture of thank you was lost by the request. Reuben simply nodded. A train whistle blew west of town. Porters scrambled to organize the fallen trunks and luggage. The people of Lantern gathered alongside the platform. Their attention now on the bride and groom’s departure. Reuben glanced at his brother and new sister-in-law. He needed to say goodbye.

  “Give me just a minute.” Reuben skipped sideways a step and pressed through the crowd to get to Jacob and Charley. “Listen, you two.” He shook his brother’s hand. “I wish you the best in Boston. Come back to us when you are officially a doctor.” He turned to Charley and hugged her. “Write often and let us know how you’re doing. You will be sorely missed.”

  Tears filled Charley’s eyes. She smiled and nodded. Words were obviously tangled in an emotional swallow. Reuben stepped back as others took their turn to wish them well. He scanned over the heads to find Thind who waited in the clearing beyond the throng of people. Reuben worked his way out of the multitude and approached Thind. “Let’s go somewhere where we can speak in private.”

  Thind nodded.

  Reuben led him over to Main Street and down the boardwalk. The Blacksmith’s shop was quiet, and no one would interfere with their conversation. Reuben had a key to get in, and Mr. O’Brien wouldn’t be there. It was the logical place to take the fiancé of the woman he loved to discuss their predicament. Thind followed in silence, but when Reuben glanced his way, he appeared to be deep in thought.

  How was this going to go? Would Thind tell Reuben to back off? That ruffled Reuben’s feathers a bit. If Reuben had not been focused on Karena, she and her mother would have been seriously injured when those trunks fell.

  Or was he seeking Reuben’s
thoughts on convincing the fathers to release Karena and him from this marriage agreement? After all, Reuben had made it obvious he cared for Karena so much he would put his life between her and falling trunks. He hoped Thind’s intentions were for the latter. But he couldn’t be sure until they were able to talk. He was fully prepared ether way. He had built up some strength swinging the smithy’s hammer over the last year, he could handle Thind should he choose to start a fist fight.

  Reuben jammed the skeleton key into the lock and swung the doors open wide. A lingering smell of charcoal, sizzling water, and hot metal filled the shop. He inhaled as he stepped over the threshold and waved Thind in. “We won’t be disturbed in here.”

  “Is this where you work?” Thind looked over the tools hung neatly on the wall, the fire pit and the charcoal box. He picked up a horseshoe and examined it closely. Holding the shoe out, he turned to Reuben. “This your work?”

  Reuben let a half grin curl on his mouth. “Yeah. Patrick O’Brien owns the place, but he has let me apprentice with him this past year. I’m getting the idea and don’t do so bad.”

  Thind continued to look over the finished ironwork leaned against another wall, ready for customers to retrieve. “Looks like you’ve learned the art well.”

  “You ever beat out any metal?”

  Thind jerked his head up and looked at Reuben. “Only simple stuff like for a wagon wheel tread. Once, out of dire necessity, I reshaped a horseshoe. But nothing like this.” He gestured to an ironwork gate.

  Reuben nodded and crossed his arms over his chest. “So, what do you have in mind about Karena and this—”

  “Look, I love Karena.” Thind interrupted.

  Reuben uncrossed his arms, his eyebrows shot up on his forehead, and his hands went down by his side in clinched fists. So, it was going to be a fist fight. He drew in a breath in an effort to remain calm.

  “But not like you think.” Thind hurriedly finished his thought. “She and I were best friends, like a brother and sister, until her father took her away from Vancouver. We rather clung to each other, terrified when we left India. The ship was huge to our small eyes, and we were all the other had for a playmate as we crossed the ocean. Her mum and my mum didn’t take well to the ocean. They were sick most of the time. Rena and I were on our own in that vast boat.”

  Reuben relaxed his hands and listened.

  Thind continued. “Vancouver was crowded and busy and… loud. We were not welcome because we were from India even though where we came from was under British rule, just like Canada. It was scary to us as small children. We were spit on and thrown out of mercantiles as if we were common thieves.”

  Compassion filled Reuben’s chest. He swallowed but remained silent.

  “When we celebrated my tenth birthday, Darsheel announced they were going to look for work in America. Of course, he suggested we come too, but my father stubbornly stayed in Vancouver, determined to make a life for Mum and me in Canada. He had a background in weaving and had brought his loom from India. But we were so severely rejected by the Canadians that we ended up working for a crew on a railway construction headed south. We lived in a tent. My Father had woven several pieces of heavy canvas which he fashioned into tents for us and the workers. Mum sewed heavy britches for the workers and cooked for the camp. Father and I both worked on the crew and when we completed the work, we stayed where the rails ended in Southern California, working odd jobs to stay alive. Mum died a year ago, and Father suddenly became determined to see that the marriage agreement with the Khans was fulfilled. To be honest, I think he is hoping this marriage will restore his financial integrity.” Thind sighed.

  Reuben nodded. “Karena tells me you have a gal in California that you would rather marry.”

  Thind grinned. “Christine. Yes. But—”

  “But your father won’t break his vow to Mister Khan.” Reuben finished for him.

  “Right.”

  “How do we convince these two that it is not such a disgrace in America to allow marriages of the heart?” Reuben glanced at the street through the open doors. The town was empty. The train whistle blew and faded. The train with Jacob and Charley was leaving. A sad, empty sensation pressed on Reuben’s heart. He turned back to Thind. “My brother, the one who just got married and left on that train, did some research on the issue, and he tells me it’s a matter of communication between the two families. If both families can agree to break the agreement, it can be broken without disgracing either family. He also said, if a dowry has been given, then it should be returned.” Reuben swallowed. “Was a dowry given?”

  Thind’s eyes darted to the empty street. “I’m not sure. We were pledged when we were babies. A dowry has never been discussed.”

  “Well, I live with my mother and her husband. I don’t have expenses. What I’m saying is, I’ve saved all my earnings, except for meals” —he remembered the breakfast, lunch, and dinner he ate at the hotel for an opportunity to see Karena when they first arrived— “and if you think your father would accept compensation to—”

  “Well,” Thind’s eyes widened. “I don’t know, but I do know my father is hurting financially. This town seems to be more accepting of foreigners settling in among the established residents. What if, somehow, you and I present Father with a job offer. His honor would be restored. I could go back to California and marry Christine, and you could marry Karena. I know she is very much in love with you. And I’m so happy for her.” Thind paused, glancing around the blacksmith shop. “This just might work. Now, where do you think Father could land a job?”

  Reuben smiled. “I have an idea.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  “My darling, please rest.” Darsheel held Anushka’s arm until she was seated. “I will make the tea.”

  Anushka, Darsheel, Karena, and Bhagat had ridden in the large rented carriage to the Khan home after waving goodbye to the newlyweds at the train depot. As Anushka understood it, they wouldn’t be back from Boston, Massachusetts for four or more years in order for the groom, Jacob, to complete a degree in Medicine. Anushka couldn’t help but wonder, as did the other women in Lantern, if they would hold off starting a family until they returned.

  The thought saddened her. There was only one sure way to guarantee such a thing, but she couldn’t imagine a couple who had such love in their eyes for one another to maintain abstinence for four years. Would Jacob be able to finish his schooling if Charley did come into a family way?

  So many concerns for the couple, all of which had already been discussed from every conceivable angle at the church-women’s social where Anushka learned much more than just knitting.

  Karena sat politely in the parlor but kept her gaze on the window that faced the street. Her mind was certainly elsewhere. It had not slipped Anushka’s notice that Reuben and Thind had walked away from the depot together. What were they up to? Should Darsheel go find them? Could they be arguing over Karena? Neither of them looked angry when they left. Did Karena know what they intended to do?

  Anushka tore her attention away from her daughter to speak to Bhagat and Darsheel. How often would she have them both in her parlor and receptive to what she might have to say. Darsheel had rushed to the kitchen to put on a kettle of water for tea and insisted she sit down. The accident with the horse and wagon tipping over the traveling trunks at the depot had not caused her any harm, nor Karena, but it did make a way for the two men to give Anushka attention that would not normally be given.

  “What a wonderful wedding that was.” She turned to Bhagat. “I’ve never been to a double wedding, have you.”

  He shook his head. “No. Can you imagine that in India. I’m not sure there are enough jewels in this small town to have two brides at once to be properly adorned for a Hindu wedding.”

  Anushka giggled. Even though she and Bhagat had converted to Catholicism years ago, she didn’t want to argue with Bhagat. She had a point to make. “And to watch two couples so very much in love. It made my heart flutter just kno
wing how happy they will be. Unlike poor Darsheel and me.”

  As if on cue, her husband came into the parlor with a tea tray. “What about you and me, my love”

  “See…” she gestured toward Darsheel. “That shows you how we have adapted to the American ways of expressing affection. But in the beginning, we were rather terrified of each other.” She giggled and took the teacup and saucer from her husband with a smile. She continued. “How wonderful it is here in Texas, ah, America for that matter, to let our children marry whoever their heart choses.”

  She glanced at Darsheel and Bhagat. If they looked angry, she would stop. If they looked receptive to what she said, she’d continue. They both looked neutral, although Darsheel appeared to tighten his jaw. That was good enough. With both father’s listening to her, perhaps she could break this barrier between them and, hopefully, get them to admit their willingness to cease this agreement between Thind and Karena.

  Bhagat lifted his eyes to Anushka as he sipped his tea. “You are not speaking of those two couples we watched get married today, are you? You’re speaking of Thind and Karena.”

  “Well,” Anushka hesitated. She glanced at her husband. Had she overstepped her rightful bounds to express herself?

  Bhagat continued. “We Singhs made this agreement with you Khans over twenty-one years ago while we were still in India. It was an act of solidarity between our two families. Since then we have traveled far and wide seeking the fortunes promised with coming to this continent. I personally,” Bhagat pressed his splayed fingers into his chest. “Have barely kept my family alive. My Anna died of a fever that wiped out so many in our town. California is known for its mining adventures and get rich schemes, but those avenues are also so very dangerous. You, howev—”