Promise of Yesterday (7 page)

Marylu hustled west on Baltimore Street toward Greencastle’s Square with the intention of checking on Cooper before heading over to help Miss Jenny at the dress shop. She sure needed help. Real bad. Orders were pouring in. No surprise there, what with the wedding season coming up and the variety show over at Town Hall just around the corner.

She murmured greetings to the handful of people lounging in storefronts. At Hostetter & Sons’, on the corner of the square, Russell, the grocer’s stock boy, talked to a man driving a box wagon. Marylu stopped and backpedaled as Russell raised his hand toward her.

“You tell Cooper he better get himself over here quick. ‘Bout near put out my back unloading a shipment from Baltimore this morning.”

“I’m going to check on him now. He has himself a nasty cough.”

“So I hear.” He bent double to lift a small box and waved at the man he’d been talking to. “That Cooper’ll get soft with so much attention on him over a cough.”

“What you talking about?”

“Miss Jenny was here buying tea for Cooper this morning. Then Chester came by here earlier.” He scratched the side of his face against his shoulder. “He went off up Carlisle. Figured he was going to check on him, too.”

Marylu squinted up the street as if she would be able to verify Chester’s presence right then and there. She debated whether to turn back to the dress shop and leave Cooper in Chester’s care. Seemed to her he might not have gone to check on Cooper anyhow. Lots of places and people in town. Who knew where Chester was headed? She better make sure.

Russell was headed toward the doorway of the store but threw a last jibe over his shoulder. “Haven’t missed Cooper’s talking. Gets me to do the work while he jaws.”

Despite his words, she could hear the smile in his voice.

“Tell him I said that, Queenie. It’ll put a spring in his step.”

Marylu chuckled, embarrassed at his use of her nickname. “I’ll tell him you missed him something awful.”

Russell set the box down just inside the doorway of the store and popped back out. “You finally meet Chester?”

“Sure did.”

“You ask me, I think he’s sweet on you.”

“Cooper?”

Russell’s grin faded. “Him, too, but I was talking ‘bout Chester.” He hefted another box and headed back toward the store. “Can’t talk. Got to get that pile inside before it rains again.”

She watched Russell hold the front door open with his foot as he released the box just inside the door then come back out for another one. He remained quiet this time. Dark eyes brooding like a puppy caught in the grain bin. Probably miffed over Cooper being sick and leaving him with the extra work. But, no, that didn’t seem right. If there was one thing Russell wasn’t afraid of it was work.

She left the man to finish his job and thanked the good Lord again for the special blessing working for Miss Jenny afforded her and Cooper. Some people who had black servants fired them for the least thing, like that Mrs. Burns east of town. But the McGrearys had grown a bond with her mama and daddy. When Miss Jenny came along, she began helping out by keeping an eye on the child. The McGrearys treated her like family, and she and Miss Jenny became fast friends as they grew up together.

When Marylu shoved open the door on Cooper’s little house in the McGrearys’ backyard, the first thing she smelled was the scent of chicken.

Jenny sat beside Cooper as he sipped from a mug. “That you, Marylu?”

“Sure is. Heard Cooper might be getting too much attention.” Cooper grinned and continued to sip. “I see you got some chicken broth down him. Thought you’d be at the store.”

“I was going to open up this morning after you left here,” Jenny said, “but I was afraid to leave him. I did get out to purchase a tin of tea …”

“Heard about it from Russell.” Marylu rolled her eyes and motioned to Cooper. “You baby him like he was an infant.” She went around to the other side of the bed and pressed her hand against Cooper’s forehead. “He still has a fever.”

Cooper glared at her and swelled up to cough.

Quick as a wink, she pulled the cup of broth from his hand before the sharp movements of his coughing fit spilled the broth everywhere. She handed the mug to Jenny, eyes still on Cooper. “Reckon we should get to calling the undertaker.”

He slid his hand across his mouth and narrowed his eyes at her.

“Honestly.” Miss Jenny shook her head.

Marylu turned and motioned for Jenny to follow her outside. She waited while her friend handed the mug back to Cooper and told him to finish it off. When she closed the door behind them, the two huddled, speaking in low tones. Marylu said, “He’s still got the fever, and I don’t think it’ll be gone tonight either.”

“I gave him the quinine the doctor left,” Jenny said.

“The cough’s what worries me most.”

“Dr. Kermit didn’t seem troubled by it.”

“In my experience it’s the cough that kills them.”

“Marylu!”

“It’s the truth.”

Jenny drew in a breath and cast a glance toward Cooper’s cabin room. “Mrs. Levy is coming in today for those dresses.” She turned her blue eyes on Marylu, her tone beseeching. “Stay here with him this afternoon while I tend the shop. He needs someone.”

Marylu nodded, touched by the woman’s devotion. “I’ll do that for you.”

“Thank you, Marylu. And there is chicken on the stove—”

“Already seen it and got plans to make a nice pie. You go along and leave things to me.”

Miss Jenny tied on her best bonnet, trimmed with a feather that looked more like a bird’s wing. “Oh, that reminds me. Chester stopped by about an hour ago.”

Her heart pounded harder. “Russell mentioned seeing him.”

Jenny’s smile widened, and she winked. “I think he was looking for you more than Cooper. I invited him to come back tonight.”

The pie dough got too stiff, and Marylu dribbled buttermilk into the bowl to loosen up the lump. Whatever edginess she felt, she took out on the crust as she slapped and dabbed, then rolled and folded. When she finally placed the crust into the pie pan and trimmed it up, she felt better. Something about her conversation with Russell, followed by Jenny’s assumption that she was interested in seeing Chester … It would be a wonder if the piecrust wasn’t ruined by her rough handling.

“You done thumping around in there?”

Marylu brushed her hands together. Clouds of loose flour lifted upward. She smiled. She’d moved him inside where she could get some work done and still keep an eye on him. Seemed to her the patient might be feeling perkier. “You hush your hollering, Cooper, or you won’t be getting any of this here chicken potpie.”

“Thought you were slaughtering a pig in there. Pie, you—” the last bit got lost as he coughed.

Marylu beat a path to the little room meant for a nursery beside her own. A good spot to hear him holler but far enough away that he could rest. She pulled him upright as he struggled to catch his breath. His body felt cooler. Something to be grateful for, but she still didn’t like that cough.

When Cooper finally quieted, she lit into him. “What you doin’ hollering at me through the walls? You need to stay still and shut your mouth, or you’ll give yourself another fit.” She lowered him to the bed and pressed her hand to his face. “Least your fever seems to have broke.”

“How long I been sleeping?” he asked.

“Long enough for me to clean this here house from cellar to attic.” She didn’t like the way the coughing fit seemed to drain him or how he looked so thin and frail.

“Gotta get up.” Again the cough seized him.

Marylu placed her hand on his shoulder. “You’ll do nothing of the sort. Rest.”

His gaze locked on her, and he raised his hand as if to touch her cheek. For a fleeting moment, she thought she saw something soft in his eyes. But the next second his hand fell away and his eyes shut. His breathing evened out.

Not used to his going quiet so suddenly, Marylu steeled herself not to panic. She reached out and touched his cheek. Fear gripped her hard as she imagined the grim possibility that Cooper might not make it through this sickness. She’d miss him. Sorely miss him. Miss Jenny, too, would grieve mightily over the loss.

Marylu got to her feet and stretched her back. She needed to set the kettle to singing and put together some tea. She made short work of filling the crust with chunks of chicken, carrots, and potatoes and covering it with another crust. Tea steeped in a mug for Cooper, and she crushed a clove of garlic to spin around in the amber liquid and hopefully take the edge off that cough. As the garlic steeped, she got down the Bible and set it in its place of honor. If Chester got here soon enough, he could read with them.

Miss Jenny chose that moment to open the door.

Marylu formed the words of a cheery greeting as she turned that direction, but the sight of tears streaking her friend’s cheeks froze Marylu’s feet flat to the floor and her tongue to the roof of her mouth.

Jenny sniffed and forced a smile as she untied her bonnet and removed it. “I expect I look a sight.”

“You look like someone sat on your prettiest bonnet.”

“I’m being silly.” Jenny brushed at her cheeks and smoothed a hand down the front of her dress. “That pie smells wonderful. And tea’s ready! Thank you so much.”

Marylu wasn’t fooled. “You done gushing? You know I always have tea waiting for you, and that pie hasn’t even gotten hot yet.”

Jenny sighed and Marylu wasted no time in crossing the room and bringing her friend into the circle of her arms. “You tell Marylu what’s got you crying.”

For a minute she wondered if Jenny would reply. She didn’t let go, forcing the woman to relax in her embrace. Marylu had held Jenny McGreary and calmed her tears and fears since the first time she’d scraped her knee on a nail and thought she was gonna bleed to death.

Finally, Jenny rested her head on Marylu’s shoulder and released a sigh. “Sally Worth came into the store.”

Marylu pulled back but maintained a hold on Jenny’s upper arms. “What’s she doing in there? She always gets her dresses done over at—” Marylu sucked in a breath. It made sense. And knowing Sally the way she did… “She’s wanting you to make her a dress for some special occasion she’s sharing with Aaron Walck.”

It was Jenny’s turn to gasp. “How could you have known that?”

Marylu whirled away. “It’s just the kind of person she is. She wouldn’t come to McGreary’s Dress Shop unless it was to gloat about some bit of favor she’d gained with Mr. Walck.” As she poured tea into a cup for Miss Jenny, another thing became certain that she had only suspected before. She set the steaming cup in front of her friend. “You really care for him.” Sure she had known Miss Jenny thought the man’s plight a sad thing, that she felt deeply for the ache of his loss. His late wife had been one of Jenny’s favorite customers.

The love between the Walcks had been witnessed by the entire town. Just as the sorrow in Aaron’s eyes when she died had been witnessed. Marylu especially recalled his lost look as his wife’s coffin had been lowered into the saturated ground, rain pouring down on the crowd of mourners. Jenny had seemed mesmerized that day by the sight of Aaron’s hair plastered to his head, his coat dripping wet. The palpable grief. Even as others filed away, he had stayed. Dazed. Probably afraid to leave the gaping hole in the ground. It had taken Marylu a full five minutes to coax Jenny away from the graveside and out of the rain.

Lord, this child’s tender heart deserves to be loved by a man who can love that hard
.

Chester bounded up the back step, figuring someone inside would know why his knock on Cooper’s cabin door went unanswered. Surely the man hadn’t recovered that quick.

He smoothed his newly clipped hair down, pleased with the ease with which he could manage it now, and raised his hand to knock. He heard muffled voices and the sound of steps before the door swung inward to reveal Jenny McGreary. Chester’s excitement dwindled a bit, but he nodded at the woman and lowered his gaze. Scents of home cooking with undertones of spice swirled in the air, and he breathed deeply.

“Please, won’t you come in, Chester?”

He raised his head and caught Miss Jenny’s smile. He did his best to keep his eyes somewhere other than her face, but when she placed her hand along his arm and tugged him inside, he couldn’t help but gape up into her blue eyes.

She gave him a soft smile and held up a finger to let him know to wait. She hesitated, looking embarrassed, then laughed. “I forget you can hear just fine. Right?”

Chester nodded.

“Marylu’s quite the cook. Would you like something to eat?”

Chester shook his head and set his slate and pencil on the table. He would never be able to reconcile himself to the idea of a white woman serving him.

Marylu burst into the room just then. She paused in the doorway to wipe her hands on her apron.

He basked in her smile and the way it spilled sunshine into the cold corners of his spirit.

“Sure he wants something to eat. You ever known a single man to turn down cookin’ that ain’t his own?”

Miss Jenny chuckled and scooted out the bench across from him. She settled her skirts around her and sat down. Marylu made for the stove as Miss Jenny slid the Bible closer and opened it up.