Chapter 2
Much to my relief Betty took over. She started the dish water as George took his
leave. I stacked the dishes on the counter and then picked up the towel Betty
had set out and began to dry.
“I hear you and George had quite an adventure last night. We
waited up for you until 9:30 and I was plumb worried. Jake sat in his chair
dozing off and finally said my fretting wouldn’t change anything. The two of
you were in the Lords hands and we needed to get ourselves up to bed. When I heard rattling in the kitchen I expected
to come down and find you. Imagine my surprise when George told me he had
dropped you off here and was bedding down on our couch for the night.”
They finished the dishes in silence. Betty knew the busy bodies would have a hay day if they found out Maggie had sleep here before marriage. No matter that George stayed at her place, they would certainly twist it all up to no good. This little piece of information would never be spoken of again. Betty knew George nor Maggie would mention it either. Once done Betty went to wipe
down the counters and table top while Maggie finished putting the dishes away.
“My Jake and I have been praying for you for a long time. “
Betty declared.
I wasn’t sure how to reply. “I assume George mentioned our letter when we
first exchanged them.”
“Goodness no” Betty
laughed. “We had never heard a peep
about you until Sunday. George usually has his Sunday meal with us. He was a
fidgeting mess all through service and when he was late for the meal I pressed
him about it. He finally stated how he was late due to asking the pastor to
come out and perform his wedding on Wednesday. I was speechless! Imagine me,
Betty Peterson, speechless” she said with a hearty laugh.
My expression must have said it all. Betty took my hand and we moved to sit at the
table. “Although we were surprised by George’s announcement we couldn’t be
happier. Jake and I have been praying for years for the good Lord to bring the
right woman to join our George. You, my
dear, are an answer to our prayers.”
Me? I’ve never been an answer to someone’s prayer. As I
wiped away a tear Betty pushed back from the table and declared that was
enough. She was up and heading toward the bedroom.
“I must see what you brought to be married in. I imagine it
will need a hot iron after your journey.”
Maggie was hesitant to show what she had brought. The brown skirt
and white blouse she had traveled in was in need of washing. Today she was
wearing a light blue dress with small white flowers. The only other dress was
off white with pink flowers. That is the dress Maggie planned to be wed in.
Betty looked around the room and spied a small suitcase. If
you could call it that as it was more of an overnight bag. “Well, you do travel light. Which dress is for
today?”
As Maggie pointed to the off white dress she inwardly sighed
with relief. She didn’t want to explain why she had brought so little with her.
Oh how she wanted to put the past to
rest.
“Good choice. I will
press this while you take a nice long bath.”
While Betty pressed the dress she couldn’t help but wonder
why Maggie didn’t bring more. Winter was around the corner and these cotton
dresses and a light blouse would never do. For a moment she wondered if she
didn’t intend to stay. Betty was always
a good judge of character and she quickly dismissed the thought as she could
feel Maggie wasn’t the type to take commitment lightly.
The bath felt delightful. Maggie could feel herself relax
and some of the nervousness subsided. A
really long bath would be wonderful but she knew her hair needed time to dry.
Reluctantly she pulled the plug.
As Maggie came out Betty was coming with her dress. “That
was good timing. Thank you for pressing
my dress.”
“My pleasure, I will make us a bite to eat. Why don’t you
stay in your robe until after we eat. Come to the kitchen when you’re
ready.”
Maggie towel dried and brushed out her hair, she then joined
Betty in the kitchen. Betty turned as
she entered and stared for a moment. “I do declare that is some long, thick,
beautiful hair you have. Do you ever leave it down?”
After saying grace Betty carried on the conversation while she ate and Maggie
picked at her soup. Once they were finished Betty set the dishes in the dish
water and turned around with a basket of rags. Surely Betty wasn’t planning for
them to clean when she would be getting ready in a few hours!
I sat down and Betty ripped the rags into strips and rolled
my hair around them until it touched my head. She then tied each of them. She
chatted the entire time and then declared the deed done. She scooted me out the
back door and took a chair and set it in the sun. “Now sit here so your hair
will dry faster. I will be right back with another chair so you can prop your
feet up. Now don’t get use to this fancy treatment as you will be married to a farmer
just like me. There is plenty of work for a farm wife” she said with a smile.
I must have dozed off for a minute. The next thing I know
Betty is telling me it's time get ready. She begins to unroll my hair. I am
amazed to see that my straight, brown hair has turned into a mass of waves.
“Sweet girl, this is
turning out better then I imagined! George won’t know what hit him when he sees
you. Now I know it's the heart that makes a person beautiful but this pretty
hair won’t hurt either” Betty chuckled.
I smiled. Beautiful
is a word that I wouldn’t use to describe myself. Hearing Betty go on and on
made me want to believe that I am beautiful and worthy. For the first time in a
very long time I had hope.
As I stepped inside I was surprised to see all that Betty
had accomplished. There was a pretty table cloth on the kitchen table. It was
white with a pink crochet border. Each corner had two pink embroidered roses.
There was also a little cake with flowers. Pink flowers that looked almost
exactly like the flowers on the dress I would be wearing. A dish of nuts and candies were also on the
table. I was filled with joy that Betty had taken the time to make this day
special. I gave her a big hug.
“Now we don’t have time for that. You run along and put on
your dress. I will be there in a minute to finish up your hair. Hurry now! I
see that our boys are walking over the hill and the pastor is coming up the
lane.”
I can't say thank you enough for your encouraging words on Chapter One. My hope is to add a new chapter each Friday. Of course, that is depending on the time I have to put into writing. As you all know my family is my top priority. :) Again, thank you for your kind words.

I can't say thank you enough for your encouraging words on Chapter One. My hope is to add a new chapter each Friday. Of course, that is depending on the time I have to put into writing. As you all know my family is my top priority. :) Again, thank you for your kind words.
I have been waiting for this chapter. You have a way with words and I really enjoy the descriptions of the homemaking. I look forward to reading more. Enjoy your week.
ReplyDeleteAwesome, anxious for the next chapter. I will be patient though! 😄
ReplyDeleteI'm enjoying this, Wendi!
ReplyDeleteAnother beautiful chapetr! It's so cozy and I'm loving it!
ReplyDelete:)
Wonderful chapter two! How wonderful for Maggie to have a Betty in her life :) Looking forward to the next installment...
ReplyDeleteHello, I just now got to read chapter 2 loved it also!Everything has me thinking where did she come from, and how God has a good life in store for her!
ReplyDeleteBlessings, Roxy