Chapter 11
“I’m afraid I don’t venture out into town as much these days. My balance isn’t what it used to be, so church is about as far as I’m able to go on my own. Ifor mentioned that you work in the post office—oh, I always thought that would be a lovely place to work. I used to be quite close to Mrs. Parson, who workedthere when it first opened a few years back—oh, you would have loved her, she was a dear! Do you enjoy working there?”
Susan smiled at Opal’s animated loquacity. She didn’t think she’d ever met anyone like her. Her eyes continually twinkled with joy, and despite her advancing age—and accompanying health issues—she seemed as bright and vivacious as someone half her age.
“Yes, it’s a great wee place.” She forced a smile as sorrow squeezed her heart. The little post officehad been her haven. But all that would soon change if John Murphy got his way. And when did he ever not?
“Were you a postmistress back home—in the Emerald Isle?” Opal asked.
Susan swallowed. Back home… But where was home, really? She’d never really felt that sense of belonging. At least, not since her mother had died. But even before that, there’d always been something—a sense or awareness she couldn’t explain—that had always made her feel out of place, somehow.
If only she had been a postmistress back home. If only she’d had a respectable occupation.
“Miss Kelly?” The twinkle in Opal’s hazel eyes had faded—now they brimmed with concern.
“Oh! Sorry. Uh, no… No, I wasn’t.”
Opal smiled and raised her eyebrows expectantly, clearly anticipating further elaboration.
Susan froze. “I…” Her heart picked up speed. “Well, I mostly had to help out at home, really.”
“Ah.” Opal smiled as she nodded knowingly. “What a blessing you were, I’m sure.”
“Hmm...”
The deep sound close beside her startled her. She turned to face Ifor, who nodded toward Opal, his eyebrows raised.
This was the closest she’d been to him, and despite how self-conscious it made her, she’d happily stay this close forever.
She chided herself at the thought. Forever? Where had that come from?
“Oh...” Opal said, managing to stretch the two letters out over a series of oscillating sounds.
Susan turned back to the woman, but not before Ifor’s warm eyes met hers, rendering her momentarily unable to do anything but return his gaze as heat crept into her cheeks.
Opal’s eyes were wide, her countenance aglow. “Oh, Miss Kelly! You see, I have been thinking of what might be done around my little house, now that my health is worsening, and, well, what I really would need is someone to give me a hand with household chores on a regular basis. Fully compensated, of course. I’m sure the post office keeps you plenty busy, but I wouldn’t want to hire just anyone, and you seem like such a lovely young lady. Might you be interested? Now, by all means, do be honest with me. And if it’s silly of me to ask, why just you say so, and?—”
“Opal! Give her a chance to speak!” Ifor said with a laugh.
Opal smiled at him, then fixed her attention on Susan, her eyes darting and her expression constantly shifting as she awaited a response.
“Help you with chores, in your house?” she asked.
Opal nodded. “Why, only if you wanted to—and were able to. A few times a week would be wonderful, or every day would have been lovely if you didn’t already have your commitments at the post office.”
Susan pondered the lady’s offer. If she were to help out at Opal’s house—multiple times a week—she’d be out of her own house a lot more. That would surely put distance between her andDa—and John Murphy. Maybe they’d give up on trying to include her in their new plans.
“I’d love to.”
She really would. Opal was a character, as she would’ve been called back home—someone so lively that they entertain and enliven everyone around them. The thought of spending more time with her was a genuinely pleasant one.
“Oh, how wonderful!” Opal clasped her hands together and exhaled a happy sigh.
“Marvelous!”
Susan glanced at Ifor, who grinned at her with what looked like admiration in his eyes.
Perhaps spending more time with Opal might also mean spending more time with him, too.
And that just might be the most pleasant thought of all.