Chapter Eighteen
“You’re looking much better today,” Velma said as she and
Natalie drank tea in Natalie’s parlor.
“I’m feeling much better,” Natalie replied.
“I talked to Mark about the social group, and he doesn’t expect me
to keep going to those social engagements with Fran and her
friends. He told me I shouldn’t do anything that makes me
uncomfortable.”
“I’m glad Mark said that. Growing up, I knew
some women who had to do whatever their husbands wanted. Their
husbands’ reputations came first.” She shuddered. “I used to think
that was the way marriage worked. Being married to Tony, I realize
it doesn’t have to be that way.”
“You might have actually enjoyed being with
Mark had you married him. There’s a lot more to him than his
money.”
“And you might have enjoyed being with Tony
had you married him.” She winked. “I don’t need to tell you how
exciting it is to find a critter invading your house, do I?”
Natalie laughed. “No, you don’t. I’ve had my
share of vermin that snuck into the house while growing up.”
Velma grinned. “I don’t like it when they do,
but it is kind of fun watching Tony take care of them. He’s like a
knight in shining armor when he comes in to rescue me.”
“I never thought of men coming in to take
care of vermin as knights in shining armor.”
“That’s probably because things like mice and
snakes don’t scare you.”
“You’re right. They don’t. I got so used to
them that I was even taking care of them.”
Velma grimaced. “Please tell me you’re
joking.”
Natalie thought about assuring her she was,
but she found no reason to lie about it. “I used to set good traps.
I can teach you how to make them if you want.”
“I’d rather not learn that.” She finished her
tea, set her cup on the tray, and then settled back in her seat.
“I’ll let Tony handle those things for me. Besides, I have enough
to do with learning how to cook meals. You and Jenny made cooking
look easy.”
“Cooking is easy.”
Velma rolled her eyes. “Sure, it is.”
“All you have to do is follow a recipe.”
“So you say, but I’ve made enough burnt meals
to prove otherwise.”
“Maybe I should teach you.”
“There’s no need. Angela’s been doing
that.”
“She has?” Natalie asked, surprised since she
hadn’t heard anything about Angela in a while.
“Yes. Angela comes out about twice a week to
help me.”
“How is she doing?”
“Wonderful. She and Sep were made for each
other. I don’t think they had to adjust to their marriage like we
did. They just seemed to sort of fit together naturally.”
Natalie had gotten that impression, too. “I
suppose things could have been easier if we had married the other
twin, but would we have been as happy as we are now?”
“No. Angela was right. You were perfect for
Mark, and I was perfect for Tony. At least she didn’t leave me to
figure things out all by myself. If it weren’t for her, I don’t
know if I would have been able to keep going during those first
couple of weeks at the farm. I grew up used to all of this.” She
gestured to the things in the room. “I’d never had to do anything
myself. Out there, I had to learn to do everything.”
“That’s not completely true,” she teased.
“You just told me Tony’s taking care of the vermin.”
“Alright, I do almost everything myself. It
was scary at first, but I’ll admit that there’s a sense of
accomplishment in doing things yourself. The work is hard, but it’s
good, too.” Velma chuckled. “Can you believe I’m saying that? I
used to think the only thing I’d ever find fulfillment in was
helping my husband acquire more clients. These days, I’m happy when
the laundry is all clean and I didn’t burn a meal.”
“I have a confession to make. I don’t miss
cooking and doing laundry.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to.
It’s exhausting. Notice I said I was happy when the laundry is all clean and
when I didn’t burn
a meal. That’s all past tense. I like the satisfaction of knowing
things turned out like they were supposed to.”
“Yes, but those chores never end.”
“Neither does the prospect of running into
people like Fran. I hate to bring this up, but Omaha isn’t that
big. You’re bound to run into her and those other women who’ve been
giving you a difficult time. Do you think you’re prepared for
that?”
“I’m not going to join them for another
social engagement. I’m not going to seek them out. I’ll deal with
them when I have to, but I no longer care if they think I’m not
sophisticated enough to be Mark’s wife. Mark loves me. That’s all
that really matters.”
“It is all that really matters. However, if
you happen to be out and they approach you, act like whatever they
say doesn’t bother you. It’s the only way to make people like that
leave you alone.”
“I see what you’re saying. It’s like what
this boy in my school went through when another boy was picking on
him. As long as the boy yelled back, the first one kept irritating
him. But after the second boy ignored him for a while, the first
one got bored and moved on.”
“Exactly. It’s hard to keep a fire going when
you stop putting wood into the fireplace.”
Natalie nodded and finished her tea. It did
feel good to have a plan in case Fran, Katherine, or someone else
came up to her to tell her what she was doing wrong.
“You’ll be fine,” Velma said. “You’ve got a
peace about you that you didn’t have yesterday.”
“Well, it helped that I talked to Mark about
it and he was understanding. I should have talked to him
sooner.”
“At least you talked to him when you
did.”
“Yes, that’s true.” She smiled at her. “I’m
glad you stopped by.”
“I couldn’t stop thinking about you all
night. I just wanted to make sure you were alright.”
“Thank you.” Natalie ran her thumb along the
handle of her cup then ventured, “Velma, do you think we could be
friends?”
“I know I made things difficult for you. It’s
no wonder you worried whether I’m your friend or not, but you’re
the sweetest person I’ve ever met. I can see why Mark chose you
over me.” Before Natalie could respond, she added, “I meant what I
said. I’m glad things turned out the way they did.” She
straightened up. “I have to go. I want to be back in time to make
dinner for my husband, but I have an errand to do first. You make
sure you keep your focus on Mark. Don’t let people like Fran get in
your way.”
“I won’t. I promise.” She stood up and walked
with Velma to the front door. “Thank you for coming by. You’re
always welcome here.”
“I appreciate that. I will stop in from time
to time, but I probably won’t be coming by much once the harvest
begins. I hear it’s one of the busiest times of the year for
farmers and their wives.”
“It is. Do you think it’d be alright if I
came out to help for a day or two?”
Velma laughed. “You’re more than welcome to
help. From what Tony’s aunt Jessica said, they can always use more
help. Though, I don’t know why you’d want to subject yourself to
all of that work when you could relax in this place.”
Unable to resist teasing her, Natalie said,
“I thought you said all that work gave you a sense of
accomplishment.”
“I did, but this is even more work than what
I’ve been doing. I haven’t lost my wits. I’m not looking forward to
doing even more work! I still prefer to spend quiet moments with
Tony at places like the lake where I’m not doing anything.”
“I bet you appreciate those quiet moments a
lot more since you do all that work.”
“Yes, I do. It makes the quiet moments that
much more rewarding.” To her surprise, Velma reached out and hugged
her. “If there’s anything you need, don’t hesitate to ask.”
Then Velma turned to the door, thanked the
butler, and left the house. Natalie watched as Velma walked down
the steps and to the buggy she had parked in front of the house.
Whoever would have thought Velma had it in her to hug someone? All
along, Velma had seemed reserved. Natalie had never seen her
express much emotion.
Natalie suspected Tony was responsible for
Velma allowing herself to be open to other people. Velma was no
longer holding people at a distance. She was now welcoming them
into her life, and, more importantly, her heart. There was no doubt
about it. Tony was exactly what Velma had needed.
***
Late the next afternoon, Natalie was sewing a
design on Mark’s pillowcase when Ben ran into the parlor, bypassing
the startled butler. She almost pricked her finger with the needle
as Ben rushed over to her.
“Is Mark here?” Ben asked.
“No.” She glanced at the clock. “He shouldn’t
be home for another ten minutes.” Noting the way he ran his hands
through his hair, she set the pillowcase down and stood up. “Has
something bad happened?”
He clenched his hair, and she thought for
sure he was going to pull out fistfuls of the dark strands.
“Yes.”
“Is someone hurt?” This couldn’t involve Mark
since Ben had come here to talk to him, but it had to be someone
she knew since he came here.
“Yes, a couple of men got hurt, but they’ll
be fine. She only gave them minor injuries. But that’s not the
worst of it.”
A couple of men got hurt? They’ll be fine?
She only gave them minor injuries? “What are you talking
about?”
“Annabelle. She got one of them pretty good,
but the others will be fine.”
She gasped. “Is Annabelle alright?”
“She’s fine. Mad, but fine.” He finally
released his hair and started pacing the floor. “She’s never going
to forgive me. But I didn’t know what else to do. Everything was
happening so fast, and I panicked. I said the first thing I thought
of, and from there, everything spun out of control.”
Natalie glanced at the doorway to make sure
the butler was no longer there. This wasn’t something others needed
to know about. “Ben, why don’t you sit down? Take a deep breath.
Gather your thoughts. Try to relax.”
“I can’t relax.” He stopped pacing and turned
to her. “Do you have any peppermints?” He put a hand over his
stomach and groaned.
“I think so. Wait here. I’ll check.”
She hurried out of the room. She knew this