Her Heart's Desire (23 page)

Her friend joined her and settled next
to her. “He’s wonderful. I can’t believe my good fortune! Is this
what it’s like for you and Rick? Does he make you feel like you’re
the most important person in the world?”

Sally nodded. “Yes, he does, but…” She
paused and fiddled with the handle of her parasol. How much should
she tell her friend?

“
But what?”

Sighing, she shrugged. “I’m not sure
exactly. As you know, I met his parents yesterday.”

“
Yes, I know. What
happened?”

“
I don’t know how to
explain it, but it seemed as if his mother would make these…these
condescending remarks. I got the impression she didn’t like me, and
I don’t think his father cares for me either, though he was
nicer.”

Turning to face her, Ethel Mae asked,
“What did she say?”

“
Well, I put the small fork
in the wrong place and didn’t season or cook the pot roast
right.”

Ethel Mae frowned. “She said all
that?”

Sally nodded. “I think she was trying
to find things to criticize. I just don’t know why.”

“
Did you say something to
upset her?”

“
No. I don’t think so.”
Sally thought over everything that happened during supper and shook
her head. “No, I didn’t. I told her my pa used to work at a factory
and I know she didn’t think that was a good job, but it wasn’t
anything that should have upset her. I was polite.”

“
I know you were polite.
You’d have no reason not to be.”

“
Exactly. I never met them,
and I love their son. Why wouldn’t I want to welcome them into my
house?” She shook her head and ran her thumb along the smooth
handle of the parasol. “I don’t know what I did wrong. I’m not even
sure I did do anything wrong. Rick said they didn’t know he married
me, so they were shocked. He would have written a letter but didn’t
have time.”

“
Everything did happen
suddenly,” Ethel Mae replied. “Even so, there’s no reason why
things shouldn’t have gone well at supper.”

“
No. I suppose there’s
not.” She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “What would you do
if you were me?”

“
I’d talk to
Rick.”

“
I did. He said I did
nothing wrong. He said it was his fault and that he should have
written to them right away so they knew we got married.”

“
But you don’t think that
would have made a difference?”

“
I don’t know,” Sally said,
brushing a wisp of hair from her forehead. “Maybe. Maybe not. I
kept getting the feeling that his mother wouldn’t be happy with me
no matter what I did at supper. As for his father…” She shrugged.
“I sensed his mother was more upset with me. Maybe I’m imagining
it. Yes, things were awkward, but I might have misunderstood the
situation. Maybe she takes a while to like new people.”

“
I wish I’d been there so I
could have seen how she talked to you. Sometimes it’s easier to see
what’s going on if you’re not involved in a situation.”

Sally nodded. How true that
was.

“
I know what you should do!
See if your family will have you, Rick, and his parents over for
supper. Then you can see what your ma says. She’s good at figuring
out what people are thinking.”

“
That’s a terrific idea,
Ethel Mae!”

“
Sure, it is. I’m more than
good looking. I have a sharp mind, too.”

Feeling much better, Sally giggled and
teased, “And you thought you had no redeeming
qualities.”

She laughed and nudged her in the
side. “I’m sure you do, too. We just need to find them.”

Sally chuckled at the joke and hugged
her friend. “Thank you. You always seem to know what to say to make
me feel better. I’m going to miss you when you marry Samuel and run
off to California.”

She gasped. “Did he say something to
Rick about proposing to me?”

“
No, not in so many
words.”

“
Sally, you’ll be the death
of me if you don’t tell me what you know.”

“
I don’t know anything. Not
really.”

Her friend groaned and collapsed in
the swing. “Why do you make me suffer like this?”

Sally laughed. “Alright. Now, no one
said anything definite, but Samuel was supposed to leave for
California a couple days ago and didn’t. Rick thinks it’s because
he’s waiting to see whether or not you’ll marry him and go to
California with him.”

Ethel Mae straightened up and clasped
her hands together. “Really? Rick said that?”

“
Yes.”

“
Oh, Sally!” Ethel Mae
hugged her. “You’re the most wonderful friend a girl can
have!”

“
All I did was tell you
what Rick said.”

“
And what a terrific thing
he said!”

Blinking back her tears, Sally smiled
at her friend’s excitement. “I’m going to miss you.”

“
I’ll miss you, too, Sally.
I really will.”

“
But this is good. You’ll
be happy with Samuel.”

“
And you’re happy with
Rick.”

Sally nodded and hugged her friend.
“Yes. Providence has been good to both of us.”

Ethel Mae brushed a tear from her eye
before she clasped Sally’s hands in hers. “I want you by my side as
my matron of honor when I get married.”

“
I’ll be
delighted.”

“
If he is going to propose,
I need to get started on a dress. Then I should pick out some
flowers to use. I wonder if Samuel will want to get married like
you and Rick did or if he’ll want to marry in a church. Oh, there’s
so many things to consider! I don’t even know where to
begin.”

“
Ideally, we’d begin with
his proposal.” Sally let go of her hands and motioned to her hair.
“But for now, we’ll get you a new hat and work on your
dress.”

“
Yes. You’re right. What
I’ll wear is a good thing to consider.”

Together, they made plans on her
upcoming wedding.

Chapter Seventeen

“
You rented a carriage so
all of us could to go to my family’s together?” Sally asked,
turning from the mirror in her bedroom to face Rick who stood by
the window.

“
I had to,” he said as he
slipped his tie around his neck. “They don’t have any way to go out
to your family’s farm, and even if they did, they don’t know how to
get there.”

“
You could have given them
directions.”

He paused while finishing his tie and
offered her a sympathetic smile. “I know this won’t be easy for
you.” He stepped over to her and kissed her. “I’ll be with
you.”

She forced a smile but couldn’t get
rid of the knots in her stomach. Looking back at her reflection,
she brushed her hair, ignoring her shaky hands as best as she
could. This wasn’t going to be a pleasant day. She already knew it
wasn’t because it required her to be with his parents, but she
assumed they’d meet his parents at her family’s place so her time
of being alone with them and Rick would be minimized. But now she
would have to spend an entire two hours with them since going out
there took an hour and coming back took another hour.

After she finished brushing her hair,
she pulled it back in a loose bun. She stood back from the mirror
to inspect her clothes. She’d chosen her Sunday dress for this
occasion. It was a pretty blue and went well with the cameo around
her neck. She took a deep breath and nodded. She could do this. As
long as she didn’t say anything, she might get through this without
upsetting his parents. After all, how could they get upset if she
didn’t say anything?

Rick slipped on his vest and sighed.
“I wish I had told them I was planning to marry you when I decided
to propose. If I had, this wouldn’t be a problem. All I can do is
promise you that I’ll be with you. If they can’t accept you, then
they can’t accept me because I made the decision to marry
you.”

She knew he meant to put her mind at
ease, but she couldn’t stop worrying about the day.

“
Are you ready to go?” he
softly asked as he put on his suit jacket.

No, but did it matter? It’d been her
idea for his parents to meet hers so she could find out if she was
imagining things as Ethel Mae suggested, but right now she wished
she could undo the invitation.

“
Sally?”

She looked at Rick whose worried
expression made her feel a little bit better. “I’m
ready.”

“
Would you like to wait for
me to bring the carriage or come with me to pick it up?”

“
I might as well come with
you,” she replied, thinking that standing around in the house and
waiting for him would make her restless. She grabbed her hat and
put it on. “Let’s go.”

With a reassuring smile, he took her
by the arm and led her out of the house. The walk to get the
carriage was a few blocks away, but it seemed to pass too fast. And
before she knew it, she was sitting beside Rick in the carriage as
he pulled up to the hotel his parents were staying at. She wondered
if there was any chance they’d decide Omaha wasn’t suited for them
and return to Vermont, but that probably wouldn’t be her luck. If
they had another child to latch onto, perhaps they might, but as it
was, Rick was all they had.

The only saving grace was that they
sat in the back row of seats while she remained up front with Rick.
She spent most of her time staring at the rolling hills in the
distance while Rick rambled on about the things he’d done that week
at his job. Under ordinary circumstances, she would have been
interested in what he had to say, but all she could think about was
how his parents were sitting behind her, probably staring at her in
displeasure. Too bad she had no idea what she’d done to upset
them.

“
It sounds like that job of
yours keeps you busy,” his father said.

“
It does,” Rick replied as
he led the horses onto her family’s property. “I’m never
bored.”

“
Well, it was something
you’ve wanted to do ever since you were a child.”

“
Yes, and it’s better than
I thought it would be.”

From there, an uncomfortable silence
fell over the group, and Sally breathed a sigh of relief when her
family’s house came into view. Tom was shouting at Joel who was
laughing, and Jenny was trying to yell over Tom’s shouts that he
and Joel better stop fighting. Meanwhile, David ignored the whole
thing in favor of washing his horse. It was just as she remembered
when she lived there, and for a moment, a wave of homesickness
washed over her. She never thought she’d miss the chaos that Tom
and Joel seemed to provide day after day, but she did, especially
since their silly arguments didn’t come with in-laws who didn’t
like her.

She glanced at Rick who smiled at her.
He was worth it. She knew from the moment she saw him that they
were meant to be together, and no matter what circumstances they
would face, as long as they stayed together, things would be
alright. She turned her gaze to his mother who shook her head as
Tom chased after Joel, shouting that this time Joel wasn’t going to
get away from him. Sally could imagine what his mother was
thinking. Undoubtedly, she couldn’t understand why the two weren’t
behaving better. It was something Sally often thought in the past,
but it bothered her that his mother couldn’t see that even if Tom
and Joel seemed to be fighting, this was their way of having fun.
Unlike David who was serious all the time, Tom and Joel knew how to
laugh and enjoy the day. Perhaps she should have understood that
sooner instead of finding them annoying.

Jenny rang the bell on the porch,
bringing Sally’s attention to her. She straightened in her seat,
eager to get out of the carriage. So far, so good. Being quiet
proved to be a good strategy, and as long as she could keep it up,
she should manage through the rest of the day in peace.

Rick pulled the carriage to a stop by
the barn and set the brake. She waited for him to come to her side
before holding her hand out so he could help her down. He gave her
a reassuring pat on the small of her back, something that helped
settle her nerves.

As his father helped his mother down
from the carriage, Tom rushed over to them. “You must be Rick’s
parents,” he greeted, slightly out of breath.

Curious, Sally glanced around the
property, and sure enough, Joel was out of sight, proof that he had
outsmarted Tom once again. Amused that a nine year old could keep
winning against a seventeen year old, she chuckled.

Rick’s mother turned her gaze in her
direction. “Is there something funny about Rick being our
son?”

Surprised, Sally grew serious. “No.
I’m sorry. I was laughing about something else.”

“
Really?”

By the expression on his parents’
faces, Sally realized they expected her to explain the situation to
them. Clearing her throat, she said, “Well, it was my brothers.
Joel is so small he can hide just about anywhere, and Tom always
seems to miss him.”

“
I don’t always miss him,”
Tom argued.