AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Don’t get cheeky with me. You’re the daughter, and I’m the mother. And I don’t want you to forget it.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Constance thought she’d gotten off lightly in that exchange and vowed to try her best to do better at least for the rest of the day.
As she watched the children who came were carried upstairs for naps, while the women whose children were in school stayed downstairs and talked amongst themselves.
Soon they were all sitting around the table, and Judy had poured drinks for all of them. When she brought the cake out, it was obvious everyone was focused on the cake, worried that Ma Berry would take issue with it.
“Why is there a hole in the middle of that cake?” Mrs. Berry asked Constance, seeming annoyed.
“It’s an angel food cake, which is my very favorite. I haven’t made one for Leonard yet, so you’ll have to tell me if it’s good enough for him.”
“Are you getting cheeky again?”
“Not at all. I really do want your opinion.” Back east, Constance had won ribbons for her cakes at two different fairs. She’d gone against women who had been homemakers for forty years, and still her cake was the best.
Judy cut the cake into wedges and split it between the eight of them. Ma Berry received the first piece, but Judy kept serving the cake all around. Once they had their pieces, they all watched as Ma Berry took her first bite.
After a moment, Mrs. Berry nodded. “You bake a fine cake, Constance. You may serve it to Leonard.”
“That’s good, because I baked two and left one at home.” Constance cut into her own cake, letting the flavors drift off her tongue. She’d passed her first test. Maybe Leonard didn’t think she was being tested, but he was wrong. Her mother-in-law was deciding if she was good enough for her son.
Chapter Eight
After Mrs. Berry left, the other women looked at Constance. “I can’t believe you got away with that,” Betty said.
Constance sighed. “I didn’t mean to contradict her. I just felt the need to stand up for Judy who invited us all over for tea, and whose house really isn’t dirty, no matter what Mrs. Berry says.”
Caroline frowned. “She hasn’t asked you to call her Ma Berry yet?”
“No.”
Judy sighed. “She will. And thank you for defending me, but don’t feel like you need to put yourself in that situation again. I can handle her insults. I have for years.”
“But she shouldn’t be insulting you or anyone else. Why does she do that?”
The sisters all looked at each other. “I don’t know why she does it,” said Annie, one of the softer-spoken women. “She’s just…well, she doesn’t seem to be happy. I feel sorry for her most of the time.”
“You’re much kinder than I am,” Constance said. “I can’t stand to be treated that way, and I don’t think any of you should either.”
Judy patted her shoulder as she passed her to go into the kitchen and clean up their mess from tea. “I don’t think you’re going to be able to change her.”
“But shouldn’t one of us try?” Constance looked at all the other women. “Have any of you stood up to her? Am I the first?”
Betty nodded. “I love Peter too much to make him unhappy.”
“I feel the same about Luke,” Caroline added.
“I guess that’s where I’m different from all of you. I’m not in love with Leonard…not yet anyway. I want to be, and I hope he’ll love me, but I only met him a week ago. I don’t want him to be unhappy, but I’m not afraid to stand up to him or his mother.” Constance was afraid she was coming across as uncaring, but she wasn’t sure how to get her point across if she didn’t.
“I think you’ll love him soon,” Annie said. “You have a good heart. We can all see that. And we all appreciate you standing up for us, but I don’t want you to make it worse for yourself. You never know what she’ll do when she’s confronted that way.”
“I suppose we’re going to find out whether we want to or not,” Constance said. “I’ll try to be kinder. I guess I need to look at her and think of her as someone who is unhappy, and try to find a way to make her happy, instead of arguing with her opinions of things.”
“You get to make the choice,” Betty said. “None of us are going to fault you for doing what you feel is right.”
Constance sighed. “Right now, I feel it’s right for me to wash the dishes.”
Annie smiled. “I’ll wipe them.”
