Sister's Choice (8 page)

It surprised Maggie to find she was rather content at the moment sitting in the kitchen, listening to the common household sounds, and sewing her patchwork.

“Maggie,” Grandma said, “did I ever tell you the story of how your grandfather and I got together?” When Maggie nodded, a little bemused because of course she had heard this story, Grandma added, “I mean the whole story?”

“Well, you and Grandpa grew up together. You and his family were close friends, and the two of you did everything together,” Maggie replied.

“Yes, that is part of it, but there is more that I haven’t shared because I thought it would be more suitable to do so when you were older.”

“Grandma, don’t tell me it’s risqué!”

Grandma laughed. “Hardly that. Do you want to hear about it?”

“Of course,” Maggie said eagerly. In her youth she had always thought family stories were so boring, but she was grown up now and before long would have children of her own to whom she would want to pass on these stories.

“Well,” Mama put in, “I have heard this, so if you don’t mind, I have to sweep the porch and water some plants.”

When Mama was gone, Grandma continued, “You are right that your grandfather and I were playmates, almost like a brother and sister. I certainly never imagined having romantic feelings toward him. In fact, when I was about sixteen I set my cap for another, a boy named Raymond. But I did so for all the wrong reasons. You see, his mother had made a beautiful quilt that was laid-on work in a pattern of flower wreaths. To this day I have not seen the like, it was so fabulous. She said it would go to her son’s bride. I wanted to be that bride so I could get that quilt.”

“Grandma, how shocking!” Maggie said, half teasing but also truly a little shocked that her grandmother could ever have been so frivolous.

“Most girls in my day did not marry for love, Maggie. Many marriages were arranged by their parents for economic reasons. It wasn’t as shocking as it might seem to you for me to seek a man for whom I felt nothing.”

“For a quilt?” Maggie thought of all the hullabaloo this last summer with the girls thinking a quilt could win the minister. Maybe Grandma’s story wasn’t so farfetched.

“You should have seen that quilt.” Grandma smiled and seemed to be looking at it in her mind’s eye. “And Raymond was not opposed to my advances. I could have won him, if I do say so myself.”

“What happened, then?”

“One day your grandfather and I were out in the field picking berries. I happened to glance at him. He was popping a nice juicy berry into his mouth, which was already stained purple because he was eating far more than he was putting into his bucket. My heart started racing. Grandpa always said later it might just have been an attack of the vapors, but I know differently. I saw him as if for the first time and was smitten with what I saw, stained lips and all. I thought the feeling would go away. I
hoped
it would because I still wanted that quilt, but even I knew I couldn’t marry one man when I was falling in love with another.”

“What made you suddenly fall in love with Grandpa?”

“I had begun to think that if I married Raymond, I would not be able to continue being friends with your grandfather. A married woman could not associate with another man in that way, and I knew my heart would break if I had to give up Joey.”

Maggie had never heard her grandfather Joseph called Joey. It made her really able to think of her grandparents as youngsters.

“I knew,” Grandma added, “that was the kind of love that was worth a hundred quilts.”

“That’s a nice story, Grandma,” Maggie said. She thought a moment and added, “What is the moral to the story?” She knew Grandma’s stories almost always had deeper meanings.

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe that life doesn’t always turn out as you think it will.”

Maggie glanced out the kitchen window and saw Mama busily sweeping the porch. “Can I tell you something, Grandma? Please don’t say anything to Mama or she might get all in a dither. She has been a little touchy about some things since all the business with the fake minister.”

“You mean matters of romance?”

“Yes, that’s it exactly. She seems okay with Zack and Ellie— we all love Zack. But . . . I don’t know. Mama doesn’t talk a lot about it, which is odd for her.”

“Yes, that is odd. So you are afraid of sharing your romantic notions with her?”

“I don’t want to upset her. That’s all.”

“If I thought you were doing yourself harm, I would certainly have to tell your mother,” Grandma said, reasonably enough.

Maggie thought her grandma’s and mother’s ideas of what was harmful might be different from her own. Still, Maggie knew these quilting lessons were, or could be, for a far greater purpose than simply learning to quilt. Grandma had a bounty of wisdom that even Maggie should not take lightly.

“This isn’t anything harmful,” Maggie replied confidently. “It is just that I want to win a fellow, and I know I first have to win over his mother because she pretty much rules the roost at his house. He’s a very manly man, don’t get me wrong, but she would probably be able to rule even the president of the United States.”

“Must be Emma Jean Stoddard’s boy.” When Maggie’s jaw dropped, Grandma added with a chuckle, “Well, she does fit your description. And even I have noticed over the years how moon-eyed you are around Colby.”

With a disgusted snort, Maggie said, “Everyone seems to know how I feel but Colby himself.”

“Oh, men are so blind in such matters.”

“Is it bad to try to win the mother in order to get the son?”

“I see no reason why. Sooner or later a girl is going to have to win over her future mother-in-law or live to regret it.”

“Like Mama?”

“Your mother never had a chance with Agnes Newcomb. That woman was not going to like any woman who married her sons. It is the same with your Uncle Martin’s wife.” Martin was Maggie’s dad’s brother.

“You get along with Aunt Silvia’s husband.” Silvia was Mama’s older sister who lived in Rainier.

“It is different with daughters. I had a bit of a problem with Uncle Homer’s wife. But we eventually worked it all out and now get along fine. I think mothers have a harder time letting go of their sons because they resemble their husbands. That is all I can think anyway.” Pausing thoughtfully, Grandma went on, “Your mother does love Kendra, your brother’s intended. No doubt she has learned from the strife with her own mother-in-law.”

Maybe Grandma saw that Maggie was starting to lose interest now that the conversation had veered from her own problem, because she added after a moment, “So Maggie, I think you are fine trying to impress Mrs. Stoddard. Just keep in mind that it may not be possible.”

“Should I give up even trying? Maybe Colby would defy his mother’s wishes—”

“I couldn’t support that idea entirely,” Grandma replied. “Maybe Mrs. Stoddard loves her son enough to bend her will to allow for his happiness. When a mother sees that her son loves a woman strongly enough, she is hard pressed to stand in the way of their bliss.”

“Doesn’t mean she won’t bring in some stiff competition.” Maggie got a sour look on her face as she thought of Tamara Brennan.

“At that point, even before, for that matter, the best thing is to leave it in God’s hands. Though it wouldn’t hurt to continue to do your best to help your own cause.” Grandma’s gaze fell on the sewing in Maggie’s hands. “Look at that. While we have been talking, you have been sewing along very nicely. Your stitches are much improved!”

“Maybe there’s hope for me after all!” Maggie exclaimed.

“I have no doubt of it,” Grandma said. “And, Maggie, I don’t think your mother would be upset if you shared with her all you have with me.”

“Maybe so,” Maggie replied noncommittally.

Maggie was enjoying her lesson and especially her conversation with Grandmother. Unfortunately, she couldn’t spend all day sewing, not that she would have had the patience for it anyway. There were other chores to be done if she wanted to be ready for Evan’s visit after the midday meal.

Ada watched Maggie stride out to the chicken coop. She moved with such surefooted steps. Funny how a few months ago Ada was so worried her younger daughter would never settle down to serious thoughts of marriage. Maggie had been such a tomboy of a girl that it had seemed, despite her prettiness, she would never attract the romantic interests of the young men in the community.

On the other hand, Ada had been quite sure about Ellie’s prospects. All the fellows had wooed Ellie, Colby Stoddard most earnestly. Ellie was a refined young lady, especially for this backwater town. She was mature and levelheaded beyond her years. There had never been a doubt that she would make a good match.

How things had suddenly flip-flopped! Ada found she wasn’t all that worried about Maggie any longer. It seemed the pieces had fallen into place for her. She was finally embracing the necessity of homemaking, and if she still enjoyed fishing and hunting and climbing trees, Ada saw no problem. She was a country girl after all.

Now it was Ellie whom Ada fretted over. Ada loved Zack as a person and even as a son. In just a few weeks since his profession of faith, he was proving to be serious and sincere about his growth as a Christian. He earnestly read his Bible and frequently asked questions. He was working hard to be honest and responsible in his choices and in seeking to right past wrongs. Why, just the other day he had asked Ada her advice about seeking out his own mother. Zack had left home when he was twelve years old and never attempted to keep in touch. His mother must have worried terribly about her son, never knowing if he was alive or dead. No wonder Zack wasn’t sure she would care to see him after he had neglected her for so many years. Ada had assured him that, as a mother herself, she was confident his mother would be deeply thrilled to hear from him.

Yet she still could not shake her discontent over her daughter’s choice of a mate. Would it be terrible not to be heartbroken if the marriage plans fell through? She felt like a most evil woman for such thoughts. If only Zack had better prospects and wasn’t so much in debt. She wished they would wait at least until summer before marriage and had hinted at this to Ellie, but thus far her daughter seemed determined to forge ahead with the December wedding. That was less than four months away.

Ada didn’t want to be like some members of the community who were taking it slowly in accepting Zack back into their good graces. That was their right, for he had duped all of them. Yet Ada truly believed Zack’s heart was pure in its intent toward God. She felt he deserved her full forgiveness.

Ada propped the broom against the back door and went inside. Wednesday was bread-making day, and her mother had begun the task, a job Ada was happy to let her take over, since she made the best bread. Ada brought over the large basket of mending and sat at the table. The large window above the sink provided nice light for the task. She picked up one of Calvin’s shirts that had a large hole in the elbow. My goodness, that man was hard on clothes! There was always a good deal of mending. They couldn’t afford to buy new shirts every time one was torn. That’s the way all country folk were. Frugality was simply inborn. Even Florence Parker, with all their money, did mending, though Ada had seen some of her rags and probably would not have discarded them into the rag box so soon.

This line of thought made her remember what she had been mulling over earlier.

“Mama, what do you think of Zack?” she asked. Ada’s mother had had a chance to get to know Zack a little better, because he had been to supper both evenings since her arrival.

“He’s a nice young man. I am especially impressed how his faith has grown.”

“He is quite sincere about it,” Ada said. “He has become like a member of the family.”

“I can see that. Calvin seems especially taken with him.”

Ada nodded. That fact only made Ada’s reservations even more puzzling. Calvin was usually such a good judge of character. Ada hated questioning that.

“Mama, do you think . . .” Ada hesitated, then gave her head a shake. “Never mind.”

“You must have doubts about the young man,” her mother said.

“I hope it isn’t that obvious. I don’t have doubts about him. I am quite fond of him. It is just that . . . I worry about his prospects. I worry about his ability to provide for Ellie. Is that terrible?” She glanced toward the stairs and then remembered Ellie was out in the fields with Calvin. She would not want her daughter to overhear this conversation.

“What does Ellie think of these doubts?”

“I am reluctant to speak to her about them. She is so happy, and they are so much in love.” Ada’s hands moved deftly over her work as she spoke. “I have encouraged my children to make their own choices in these matters. I know Ellie well enough, and if I interfere, she may act in order to please me instead of following her heart.”

“You and I both know that a girl will most likely follow her own heart, even an obedient child like Ellie.” Mama Spooner’s hand paused as it stirred the bread dough. A thoughtful look creased her brow.

Ada wondered if she was thinking of when Ada had been a girl and in her own romantic quandary.

“But more than that, Ada, you must trust that God is directing Ellie. The hardest thing for me as a parent was to remember that my children had their own relationship with God and that God was speaking to them quite apart from me. Ellie has a stronger faith than many children.”

“I appreciate your reminding me of that. A mother spends years as the center of her children’s lives, directing them, even— dare I say?—controlling them. It is very hard to step out of the picture.”

“If it were me, I’d be more worried about Maggie than Ellie.”

“Truly?” Ada frowned. She didn’t like to think she’d been mistaken about both of her daughters. “Did she say something to you?”

“She did say some things in confidence. Nothing to raise a huge alarm, but still I fear she may be hurt by her romantic pursuits.”

“How so?”

Mama Spooner dumped the dough out on a floured board. “By setting her sights on the wrong young man.”

“Do you mean Colby Stoddard?” Mama frowned again. “He has always been a childhood infatuation of hers, but I don’t see the harm in her pursuing him. He’s a good man, if a bit wild. Of course, I wouldn’t envy Maggie having Emma Jean for a mother-in-law.”