Chapter Twenty #2
“Oh, think nothing of it, Mrs. Mercer! Truthfully, I would have been a bit more worried if you had shown little interest in Lila. But truly, it is forgotten, and I am sure Lila will continue to flourish with you,” she said sincerely.
“I do wish we could speak further, but…” She gestured to her line of children, some eagerly bouncing in place.
“We’re all very excited to see how the circus is coming along! ”
“Oh, of course!” Maeve said. “You get going, then.”
“Let us know if you see any elephants!” Sadie grinned.
With that, Ms. Miller offered a polite wave goodbye as she led the children farther down the road. Sadie pulled the wagon up to Maeve, and as she absentmindedly climbed back into her seat, she became acutely aware of the wide, foolish grin on Sadie’s face.
“What’s that look for?” Maeve asked.
Sadie’s grin somehow got bigger. “Did Ms. Miller finally convince you that you’re a good mother for Lila?”
Had she? Maeve set her hand on her heart, which was still fluttering wildly after their conversation. The warmth persisted well after Ms. Miller’s departure, and as Sadie led the wagon farther down the street, Maeve came to an exciting, yet terrifying, realization.
‘I gotta talk to Jed when we get home,’ she resolved to herself. It was nerve-wracking, revisiting a topic that had caused such a terrible fight between them previously. But this time, she would be clear and concise. She would be honest with her feelings and speak from her heart.
Even if Jed had his reservations, Maeve would make sure to leave the conversation without regret this time.
***
Maeve finally made it to the front porch well after the sun had set. She’d barely given a goodbye wave to Sadie before moving to open the cabin door, only to find it wouldn’t budge.
“Locked. Right.”
Her hands jittered with nerves as she thought of her new goal, making it difficult to curl either of them into a fist to knock. In mere moments after she did, Jed undid the locks and held the door open, and Maeve was taken aback by the wide grin on his face.
“Are…you alright?” Maeve asked.
Jed nodded, the smile persisting. “Y-Yeah! I, uh– Me and Lila just had a good day, is all.”
Suspicion filled Maeve as she entered the cabin proper.
Lila was toddling around in the living room, holding onto the couch for support while attempting to replicate her solo walk from yesterday.
Maeve couldn’t see Samuel anywhere, and as she stepped farther inside, Jed ensured he remained ahead of her, seemingly blocking her route to the bedroom.
“Jed?” Maeve asked.
Her husband looked ready to burst. “Y-yes?”
Good gracious, but she’d never seen him look so…excited. He didn’t seem in any state of mind to have a serious conversation with her, pulling a small quirk of irritation from deep within Maeve. She’d put up with a lot that week already, and now her patience was beginning to run thin.
“Um, Maeve?”
She looked at Jed’s face–really looked–and noticed a brilliant glint in his green eyes, the sort of excitement that had only occasionally broken through his normally stoic visage.
Maeve let out a quick breath; she couldn’t bring herself to ruin his unusually good mood with such a serious topic.
With a small smile of her own, Maeve moved to prop Lila against her hip, softening the edge of her voice before responding to her husband. “Yes, Jed?”
The light in his eyes brightened considerably.
“I– There’s something I’d like to show you.
” He offered his hand to her, and Maeve took it without a second thought.
She was led down the hall to the bedroom door, and as Jed opened it, Maeve found herself a bit confused.
The room looked mostly the same. Had he tidied up and she just couldn’t see it?
Her eyes swept across the room more carefully, and she nearly lost her grip on Lila as she finally found the difference.
A beautiful rug had been fit perfectly in the corner of the room, with an assortment of wooden and plush toys scattered across it.
A few shelves had been hammered onto the wall as well, with all of Lila’s dresses and headwear neatly put away on them.
But the centerpiece was what took Maeve’s breath away: Lila’s blanket hung over the railing of a newly built crib, the scent of pine sap lingering in the air around it.
Lila let out a delighted squeal, squirming free from Maeve’s grasp as she slid down her leg. She did her best to toddle across the floor, then dropped into a lightning-fast crawl toward the closest toy: a wood-carved spoon decorated with a simple floral and vine pattern.
Maeve hardly registered Jed out of the corner of her eye as he moved toward the corner.
He didn’t seem to know what to do with his arms, switching between folding them against his chest and settling his hands on his hips.
He finally settled on sticking one in his pocket while the other sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.
“Samuel did most of the work on the crib, and Sadie’s li’l sewing circle helped with the soft toys and the rug. But I carved the spoon,” he added eagerly. “And once Samuel told me what shapes the crib parts needed to be, I did those as well.”
Maeve had completely forgotten how to speak.
“I…I know life’s been a bit all over the place right now,” Jed began, “what with the bandits, and mine and Lila’s unexpected arrival. And–and even after I said what I did in the barn, I know if I truly ever lost my Ma’s hat, I’d still be beat up inside.”
His fingers briefly brushed across his forehead, as if he were feeling for the rim of it.
“If I were in your shoes, I’d feel awful lost. Like…my family’s all drifting away from me.”
Maeve was stunned. How had he so succinctly put her thoughts into words?
“So, I reckoned…” He let out a breath, clearly beginning to lose his nerve.
“Well…since I can’t bring your old family back, I could help you start a new one?
With me…and Lila. We ain’t ever gonna replace your Pa, but you could tell Lila all about him?
Share the memories so they ain’t all on you to remember. ”
Maeve wasn’t capable of giving him a verbal answer.
So instead, she threw herself into Jed’s arms and squeezed him tightly.
At first his body stiffened, but his arms soon wrapped around her waist. Lila crawled over and grasped onto both adults’ legs, and Maeve couldn’t help but laugh as Jed scooped her up.
“You like it too, Lila?” he asked.
Lila replied with a delighted squeal and a frantic wave of her new wooden spoon.