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Chapter Eight
As soon as Sydney had changed into the dress she’d worn earlier, she hurried down the stairs, stopping at the bottom to ask Susan, “Are we still going to do that little sewing party tomorrow?”
“We are. I’ve invited several friends, and they’ve said they’ll come.”
“What do I need to bring?”
Susan shook her head. “Fabric. That’s all. And I have some for nightgowns and aprons, so you don’t need to worry about those.”
“Thank you!”
“Welcome to the family, Sydney!”
“Do I call you Ma now? Or can I keep calling you Susan?”
Susan laughed softly. “Lewis doesn’t call me Ma, so I don’t know why you would think you needed to.”
“I guess I feel like it’s showing respect for you.”
“Show your respect by being my friend.”
Sydney grinned. “Of all the potential mothers-in-law I was forced to socialize with, you’re my very favorite.”
“I’d better be,” Susan said. “And you can be my favorite daughter-in-law every other day. Well, until some of the others marry, of course.”
“Of course.” Sydney hugged her friend and then hurried over to Lewis. “I have my carpet bag. I’ll get the wedding dress from Susan tomorrow. I’m coming over for a sewing party.”
Lewis nodded. “I don’t understand how you can have a party and work at the same time, but I’m not going to say anything. How can I?”
Sydney shrugged. “No idea. Probably best if you stay quiet,” she said, grinning up at him. “Let’s go home.”
As they walked toward the house, Lewis brought up a subject she hadn’t been able to discuss with him yet. “If you want to delay the wedding night, we can do that,” he said softly.
Sydney loved the idea, and it took everything inside her not to say that’s what she wanted, but she knew procrastinating wouldn’t make their first time any easier. Nothing would except just doing it. “No, this is our wedding night.” Besides, she knew if she was no longer a virgin, her mother would have to leave her alone.
“Well, you just made me the happiest man on earth,” Lewis said, grinning at her.
She grinned at him. “Happy to have done so. And thank you for being willing to just handle the wedding immediately. It wasn’t the most romantic way we could have gotten married, but it was a necessity.”
He led her to his front door and then frowned. “Before Alice came, Susan and Mrs. Hackenschleimer cleaned Albert’s house. I didn’t have a chance to have anyone do that for you!”
“That’s all right. Being a wife means that I cook and clean and I do it all with a smile on my face, right?”
“I’m not so sure about the smile part…”
He opened the door, and she peered inside, expecting a mess, but instead, she saw two of his sisters there, with a bucket. “We just finished,” Augusta, the oldest of the Dailey girls, said.
“Thank you!” Sydney said, hugging each of the girls in turn. “You have no idea how wonderful this wedding gift of yours was.”
The girls smiled happily as they hurried off to their home.
Lewis looked around, surprised at how clean the house was. “How did they do that so fast?”
“They’ve been taught to clean house and cook from the time they learned to walk. Of course, they can do it quickly and efficiently.”
“They complain when Susan asks them to clean. They looked happy here!”
“When you have to do it at home, it’s called chores. When you can do it for your brand-new sister-in-law as a surprise, you feel much better about yourself.” Sydney understood perfectly, though she’d never been in the girls’ situation. Not exactly. “Wait, do you have a bathroom? I know Albert does.”
