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“Makes sense.” He handed her into the buggy, and she used the lap robe he had on the floor to cover up with, holding up his half, so she could cover him with it when he joined her. “This is going to make church so much more fun!”
He laughed. “The pastor’s sermons are awfully dry. All hellfire and brimstone. I don’t think those will ever be fun no matter how you look at it.”
“That’s probably true. Still, I’m excited to have a buggy to ride in. Do you know I’ve never been in one in my whole life? My father drove the farm wagon, and I considered myself lucky to get rides in that. Mostly I walked everywhere, or I rode.” She didn’t add that she rode bareback, because she was certain he would be scandalized, just as her mother had been when she’d found out. It hadn’t stopped her, but she’d had to be more careful to do it when her mother wasn’t looking.
“I didn’t know you ride. We’ll have to go out one afternoon and just enjoy ourselves.”
“I’d like that a lot,” Alice said. She’d even learn to ride using a saddle if she had to. And she was certain she did. She was a respectable married woman now. Oh how she wished she could still be the young heathen her mother had often called her.
As they pulled into the churchyard, Alice was pleased to see that the church was much smaller than she’d envisioned. “I thought we’d be going into Fort Worth for church.”
“Not at all. We’ve always gone to this church, and this is where we went to school as well. It’s a small church, just meant for the people who live nearby to have a close-knit community.”
He put the parking brake on before hurrying around to help her down from the wagon. She was wearing her Sunday best, but it was her Sunday best from a few years back, and it needed to be replaced. She hoped no one would look down on her for having an older dress.
They walked to the church together, and he introduced her to a couple of the ladies in the congregation along the way. “I’m going to leave you with Susan, if you don’t mind. I need to talk to a friend of mine about plowing a kitchen garden for you.”
“All right.” Alice wasn’t sure if her sister would help calm her nerves or make them worse. Susan seemed so confident in all she did. It made Alice feel a bit small at times.
As soon as Susan saw her, she smiled and beckoned her to come closer. “I want you to meet one of my dearest friends,” Susan said. “This is my friend, Wilma. Wilma, this is my sister and my daughter-in-law Alice.”
Wilma smiled, but her smile seemed a little shy to Alice. “That’s got to be confusing. Do you call her Susan, Ma, or just hey you?”
Alice laughed. “I call her Susan. One of these days, I may just call her something else, but it might not be as nice as it could be.”
Wilma laughed softly. She obviously had a good sense of humor. “We need to welcome you by having a sewing day,” she said. “I’ll bring my cookies.”
“I’ll host,” Susan said. “We’ll invite Beverly as well, and we need to find someone nearer to Alice’s age.” It was then she spotted a young woman she called over. “Alice, this is Sarah Peterson. She just got married a few weeks ago. Sarah, my sister Alice, who just so happens to be married to Albert.”
Alice smiled, but it felt forced. Sarah’s hair was the color of chestnuts and fell freely over her shoulders to her back. Alice would never day wear her hair down that way. Her mother would have called the style scandalous. “It’s nice to meet you, Sarah.”
“You too.” Sarah didn’t sound like she meant it though.
Susan said, “We were planning a small sewing gathering at my place on Tuesday afternoon this week. Would you care to join us?”
Sarah nodded. “I’d love to. I can’t wait to get to know your sister.” With that, Sarah walked away, leaving Alice feeling dirty. The looks Sarah had given her made her feel like the other woman resented her marriage to Albert, which made no sense to her at all.
The sermon was just as Albert had said—hellfire and brimstone. After ten minutes of the talk, Alice began daydreaming that she was anywhere else in the world. She believed in the preaching of God’s love, but not so much potential punishments. Why did so many pastors feel they had to frighten their flock into doing what was right?
After the sermon, they all went to Susan’s house, and there was a huge pot roast, carrots, and potatoes for the noon meal. Someone had even gotten up early enough to make fresh bread. Alice would have settled for bread from the day before, but this was obviously a special meal to her sister.
“What are we celebrating?” Alice asked as she helped put the food onto the table.
Susan laughed. “We’re celebrating our first Sunday with you as part of our family,” she said. “I thought Albert would have told you.”
Alice shook her head. “He just said you preferred if the whole family spent the day together on Sundays.”
“Well, that’s true, as far as it goes. I usually cook something much simpler though.” Susan put a pitcher of milk on the table and called everyone for lunch. “I’m really glad you’re here, Alice. Even if you pretended not to be my sister when you first arrived.”
“Blame your two oldest boys for that. I was but a willing pawn in their game of chess with you.”
“Willing is what I have issue with,” Susan said, shaking her head, though there was a slight smile on her face. “I’m excited we’ll all be getting together to sew this week. We each bring whatever project we’re working on, and we visit while we stitch. Wilma makes the best cookies, and we’ll have those as a break during our time. Can you come over right after the noon meal?”
Alice nodded. “I’m a little nervous about getting to know Sarah, since she was the one Albert was hoping to marry.”
Susan shook her head. “Albert wouldn’t have spent more than an evening or two with Sarah before realizing she was not the woman he wanted to spend his life with. Sarah is much too fickle for him. I’ve heard she’s already flirting with other men, and she just married a few weeks ago.”
“Oh, that’s sad. I feel badly for her husband.”
