Loving Eliza

Chapter Twenty

The next day, Jane sat with Lucy and Eliza in the parlor of Eliza’s house while Charlotte took a nap in the other room.  She pulled the needle through the cloth square she was sewing into the quilt.  “I notice you like yellow,” she told Eliza as she scanned the various shades of yellow Eliza wanted for her blanket.

“I do,” Eliza admitted from across from Jane and Lucy as she sewed in a square on the other side.  “It’s such a beautiful color, one of hope and joy.  When I was a girl, my parents took me to a meadow where we’d have a picnic, and I’d play among the yellow flowers.  Yellow brings back good memories.”

Jane smiled.  “That’s a lovely story.  My best memories while growing up were Christmases.  My father would read the Gospel of Luke, we’d sing songs, and open gifts.  We didn’t have much money while growing up, so we had to make each other our gifts.  My brother would make me and Rebecca the same thing every year.  He would take the leftover popcorn we didn’t put on the tree and make necklaces of them.  Then he’d have our mother help him draw angels to put in the middle.  We collected those necklaces for years.  One year, Rebecca and I made dolls for each other, and we spent the year making clothes for them.  We usually chipped in and made our father and mother a scarf or socks.”

“It sounds like you had wonderful Christmases,” Lucy commented as she selected a square to add to the quilt.  “My favorite childhood memory was going to the lake by my house and reading a book.”

Jane smiled.  “Sounds lovely.”

“It was.  Brian and I like to go to the creek down that way.” Lucy indicated where she meant before she pulled the thread through the fabric.  “Charlotte’s finally getting to the age where she will sit for a bit so I can read.  Sometimes Eliza watches her so I can go alone if I want to rest.  It brings back good memories.”

Eliza winked at Jane.  “And it gives me a good excuse to spend time with my granddaughter.  I can’t say I don’t have an ulterior motive when I suggest Lucy take a break so she can go to the creek.”

Jane chuckled.  “There’s nothing wrong with that.  I used to enjoy watching my niece and nephew so my sister-in-law could get a break.  She might have taken advantage on some occasions, but I still enjoyed the time I spent with them.  After the falling-out I have with my brother, I didn’t get to see them except when I ran into them in a store.”

“May I ask what caused the falling-out?” Eliza asked.

“My brother sold me to a man who wanted to marry me.”

Lucy and Eliza stopped sewing and stared at her in disbelief.

With a sigh, Jane shrugged.  “It’s true.  My brother and I worked things out to a point, but it’ll never be the same.”

“This person your brother sold you to wasn’t Jeremy, was it?” Lucy asked.

“Oh, no.  Jeremy married me so I wouldn’t have to marry Micah.  Micah was disgusting.  He farted and burped in public.” Thinking back on the potluck her brother made her go to with Micah made Jane laugh.  “I didn’t think it was funny at the time, but looking back, I suppose it was.  I was forced to go with Micah to a potluck and ran off to hide during the get-together.”

An amused grin appeared on Eliza and Lucy’s lips.  “You really hid?” Lucy asked.

“I did.  I ran to the back of the house and waited until it was time to clean up before I returned,” Jane replied.

Eliza giggled.  “I’m sure you didn’t bolt to the back of the house, but that’s the way I imagine it.”

“Well, it was close to it, to be honest,” Jane said.

“So how did you end up marrying Jeremy?” Lucy asked.

Jane’s face grew warm.  “When he found out what my brother did, he told my brother that Micah wasn’t going to marry me and to make sure Micah didn’t, he married me.”

“That’s romantic.”

“At the time, it wasn’t.  You see, he was married to my sister, and after she died, he had a hard time of it.  I could tell the difference in his sermons when she was alive and after she wasn’t.  My sister was a lovely person,” Jane softly said.  “It doesn’t seem fair that someone like her had to go before her time.  Sometimes I miss her.  She was my dearest friend.”

“What was her name?” Eliza asked.

“Rebecca.  She died a few months after marrying Jeremy.  It was a hard time for all of us.”

“It must have been nice to have a good relationship with her,” Lucy said, “even if she died young.  At least you were friends.”

Jane sensed a tone of regret in Lucy’s voice but decided she didn’t know Lucy well enough—not yet at least—to feel comfortable prying into Lucy’s life.  Since Lucy didn’t volunteer the information, Jane decided to let the matter go.  “Anyway, I married Jeremy so I wouldn’t have to marry Micah, and it’s turned out to be the best thing that happened to me, though I’m sorry I had to lose my sister for it to happen.”

“He loves you,” Eliza told her.  “I know the look a man gives a woman when he loves her, and he has that look when he turns his attention to you.  I’m glad you gave him a second chance to be happy.  All I’ve ever wanted for him was that he’d be happy.”

Jane’s face flushed with pleasure.  “He’s made me happy, too.”

Smiling, Eliza set her side of the quilt down.  “I’m glad you two came.  I hoped and prayed for good things for him, and it’s wonderful to see him doing better than I dreamt possible.”

Jane finished her square and noticed the others weren’t sewing.  “Are we done for now?”

“I thought the men might like something hot to drink.”

“That’s a good idea,” Lucy agreed.  “It’s been awhile since they had anything.”

Eager to see the men at work on the furniture in the work shed, Jane stood with the others and put on her coat.  She carried a plate of cookies while Eliza and Lucy carried the coffee and cups.

“It’s lovely here in South Dakota,” Jane commented.  “It’s colder than what I’m used to, but it’s lovely all the same.”

“It’s been so long since I’ve been in Nebraska that I hardly remember what the winters were like,” Eliza said as their boots crunched on the snow.  “I admit that I enjoy being here most because of the good people here.  Where you live isn’t so important as who you live with.”

“That’s true,” Jane replied.  Rebecca and Edith’s absences from Lincoln left a hole in her heart.  If it weren’t for Jeremy, she didn’t know what she’d do.  “What do you think of South Dakota?” she asked Lucy.

“I love it more than Minnesota.  It’s peaceful and quiet out here.  I am wondering what it’s like to be married to a preacher.”

Jane chuckled.  “Despite what people think, Jeremy’s not perfect.  I used to think he was because of his profession, but when we have our first argument, I was relieved.  I no longer felt like I was living with someone who never sinned.  It’s easier to relate to someone who’s human, you know?  A lot of people request to talk to him, so he stays busy and can be called out in the middle of the night.  I don’t mind all of that, but sometimes it’s hard for me to think of what to say to some parishioners after a service.  I don’t know what to say most of the time, so I stay by his side.”

Lucy gave her a sly smile.  “You should have Eliza with you. She has the gift of gab.”

Eliza sighed good-naturedly.  “It’s a blessing and a curse.  Sometimes I think I put some people to sleep with my ramblings.”

“Nonsense,” Lucy replied.  “You make even the most boring story sound interesting.”

“I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or not.  Do you mean I talk about boring things?” she teased.

“Oh, you’re silly.  Of course not, but you could talk about painting a fence and make it sound like fun.  You and Tom Sawyer have that in common.  You could talk anyone into anything.”

“Yes, but he did that to get out of working, if I recall right.”

“He did.” As they neared the shed, Lucy asked, “Have you read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Jane?”

“No, I can’t say I have,” Jane replied.

“Well, if you want, I can lend you my copy.”

They stopped in front of the shed and Eliza turned to them.  “I thought it was fine.  The Scarlet Letter was much better, but The Adventures of Tom Sawyer was much better than that horrible Romeo and Juliet book.”

“What was wrong with Romeo and Juliet?” Jane asked.

“Well, I thought I was going to get a romance, and while there was a romance, the two ended up committing suicide.  I prefer a happy ending when I read.  Granted, life doesn’t always end in a happy ending, but when I read, I read to escape.” Eliza paused and smiled as she placed her hand on the doorknob.  “However, I will say that we’ve all had our happy endings, haven’t we?  We have good men in our lives, and that’s important.”

“Yes, it is,” Lucy agreed.  “We’re very lucky.”

Eliza nodded as she turned the knob, and as they entered the shed, Jane welcomed the warmth coming from the small box stove in the room.  She stomped her feet on the mat by the door so she wouldn’t trace snow through the shed.

Eliza set the tray with the coffee pot on the table next to the door.  “We thought you men might like a snack after all your hard work.”

“I smell cookies,” Brian said from where he sanded a chair leg.

“Yes, but can you guess what’s in them?”

“Oatmeal?”

Jane’s eyes grew wide.  Lucy was right.  Brian could pick up on things with surprising accuracy.  John stood up and made a sign that she learned meant ‘thank you’ while he took the coffee pot to pour coffee into the three cups.

Jeremy also stood and went over to Jane.  “I don’t think there’s any danger of me leaving the ministry to make furniture.  I messed up with staining one of the chairs.  Don’t even get me started on my attempt to sand down one of the arms.  John redid both so you can’t tell where I goofed.”

She smiled and handed him a couple of cookies.  “We all have our strengths.  Yours is in front of the congregation.”

“It’s easier speaking to a group than fiddling with a piece of wood.”

“Speak for yourself,” Brian called out from where he sat.

John handed Jeremy a cup of coffee before he signed to Eliza.

“John says you did fine, Jeremy,” Eliza said.  “It takes time to learn how to make furniture.”

“You’re being too kind,” Jeremy replied with a smile.  “I don’t have a knack for it.”

John waved his hand to dismiss Jeremy’s protest and brought Brian a cup and some cookies.  Then he returned to Eliza for his own cup and cookies.

“Think of it this way,” Lucy began, “if you made furniture, then who would give the sermons?”

“True,” Jeremy replied.

“I wonder if Preacher Brown would be willing to let you give this Sunday’s sermon,” Eliza said before she bit into a cookie.  “I’ve love to listen to one of your sermons.”

Jane noted the look of pleasure on Jeremy’s face and was glad his mother chose to give him such a high compliment.  It was good his fears had been for nothing.  His mother was as happy to see him as Jane hoped.  “Maybe we could ask,” she told him.

“He’s a temporary preacher, so I’m sure he would,” Eliza added.  “He’s getting up in years and plans to return to where he grew up in Iowa to be with his younger brother and his family.”

“Isn’t there a preacher due to come in who will stay?” Jane asked.

“Not yet,” Eliza replied.  “Preacher Brown will stay until one does.  He’s waiting for word to come in.”

Jane glanced at Jeremy but figured it was best to ask him what he thought about requesting this town to minister to when they were alone.  There was nothing tying her to Lincoln, and she didn’t think there was anything holding Jeremy there either.  A new start might be nice, and she enjoyed talking to Eliza and Lucy.  It’d been a long time since she felt comfortable talking to a group of women.  For sure, it was refreshing after overhearing what Marcy thought of her.

Jeremy set his empty cup down.  “When Jane and I return to town today, we’ll pay Preacher Brown a visit and see what he thinks of me giving a sermon on Sunday.”

Eliza’s smile widened.  “I hope he says yes.”

The rest indicated their agreement and chatted a little longer before the women returned the empty coffee pot and dishes to the house.

When Jeremy and Jane left in the buggy Addy and Frank let them borrow, she turned him.  “What do you think of being here?  Do you like it?”

He took her hand in his and said, “Yes, I do.  My mother is a nice woman.  I’m glad I got a chance to meet her.”

Sensing his hesitation, she asked, “What is it?”

He shrugged.  “I keep wondering how she became a prostitute?  How does a girl at fourteen end up at the top of a saloon giving her son away for adoption?  I mean, I understand how she got pregnant since it was the result of the business, but didn’t she have family she could have gone to instead of running to a saloon for employment?”

“I don’t know.  Are you going to ask?”

“I’ve been thinking about it.  Do you think she’ll tell me?”

“There’s only one way to find out.”

“Whatever the story is, I’m sure it’s not pleasant.  There’s a reason why she’s told me everything else but that.”

“If it’s important for you to know, then you should ask.”

“It might not be my business.”

“No, it might not,” she softly agreed.  “You’ll have to do what you feel is right.”

After a couple minutes of silence, he cleared his throat.  “I suppose we should make a stop at Preacher Brown’s before we return to the boarding house.”

She squeezed his hand, understanding that asking his mother about her past would have to be a decision only he could make.