Mail Order Mama (Brides of Beckham Book 2) (4 page)

Benjamin squeezed Emily’s arm.  “Don’t let my sister bully you.”  He turned and walked toward his store his strides long and hurried.

Emily watched him go, and then turned to Birgitta.  “I’m filthy.  I can’t believe how dirty the train was.”  She was embarrassed to meet anyone looking like she did, so she was thankful it was just one person.  It was bad enough to meet Benjamin like this.

Birgitta wrapped her arm around Emily’s shoulders.  “I have a bath waiting for you in the kitchen.  I just need to add hot water, and it’s already boiling.”  She steered Emily toward the kitchen and added the hot water.  “You can go ahead and take your clothes off.  I have daughters and sisters, and you won’t bother me.  I’ll wash your hair for you.”

Emily had never taken off her clothes in front of anyone but her mother, but she was afraid to say ‘no’ to the older woman.  She stripped quickly and sank into the warm water. 

Dropping to her knees beside the tub, Birgitta used a glass and poured it over Emily’s head and then scrubbed it with soap.  After she finished washing Emily’s hair, she scrubbed her back for her. 

Emily sighed.  No one had washed her back for her since she was a small child.  “That feels nice.  Thank you.”

After a moment, Birgitta stood up.  “I wish I could let you soak for an hour, but we need to get you ready for your wedding.”  She walked over to the work table and got a towel she’d placed there earlier.  She held it out and turned her head, so she could wrap it around Emily without making her uncomfortable. 

“You dry off, and I’ll be right back.  I want to get a couple of things for you.”

While she was gone, Emily dressed hurriedly in her chemise.  She pulled her dress which had been carefully wrapped in tissue paper out of her bag and spread it out on the table.  It didn’t look terribly wrinkled so she pulled it over her head.  She buttoned it up the back, just finishing up as Birgitta came back into the room. 

Birgitta held a small bouquet of white and pink flowers.  She had two single white flowers in her hand.  “I thought you might like to carry this bouquet, and we can put these two in your hair.”

Emily smiled utterly charmed by the details Birgitta was thinking of.  “Oh, thank you.  I’d love to wear them.”  She took one of the single flowers and held it under her nose to smell it.  “What kind of flower is this?”

“They’re asters.  There aren’t a lot of flowers still in bloom this time of year in Minnesota.”

“They’re perfect.  Thank you for thinking of them.”  Emily was glad she’d have a piece of Benjamin’s home with her as she walked down the aisle toward him.

“Your dress is lovely.  If you sit, I’ll fix your hair for you.”

Emily sat down on one of the straight back wooden chairs in the kitchen.  Each one had a cushion made in a red check patter that matched the pretty table cloth.  Looking around the kitchen for the first time, Emily found it lovely.  The curtains matched the tablecloth and there were small paintings on the walls.  “I like the way you’ve decorated your kitchen.”

“Thank you!”  She used Emily’s brush and comb to quickly comb through her hair and deftly applied pins to put it into an updo.  She added a flower to one side and tilted her head to the side to look at her.  “I think you’ll look better with just the one flower in your hair.  Is that okay with you?”

Emily nodded.  “That’s fine.”

Birgitta took a small hand mirror from the table where she’d laid it and held it up for Emily.  “What do you think?”

Emily stared at her reflection in the mirror for a moment.  “I love it.”  She really did like how it looked, but she knew she’d have lied and said she liked it even if she hadn’t.  She’d do anything to keep from offending this sweet woman who had gone so far out of her way to make her happy and comfortable.

“You look beautiful.  My brother will swallow his tongue when he sees you walking through the church toward him.”

Emily knew better.  Benjamin was looking for a mother for his daughters nothing more.  She looked at the clock on the wall.  “We only have ten minutes.  Shouldn’t we go?”

“Yes, we need to leave.  It’s a short walk to the church, but it wouldn’t do to be late for your own wedding.”  She went into the parlor and called out, “Dalla, Adam, Edna, Jarl, it’s time to go!”  Four tall blond teens, two boys and two girls ran into the room all dressed in their Sunday best clothes.  “These are my children.  The girls are Dalla and Edna, and the boys are Jarl and Adam.”  She opened the door and the children walked ahead to the church.  

“Isn’t your husband going to the wedding?”

“Lars is the pastor.  He’s already there.”

“Oh!  I didn’t realize you were the pastor’s wife.”  How could she live up to being in the same family as a pastor?  Wouldn’t people be watching her more closely?

“Yes, that’s my lot in life.”  She smiled as they walked slowly toward the church.  “He was a simple farmer when I married him and had my babies.  Ten years ago, he told me he needed to answer the Lord’s call.”

“How did you feel about it?”

“Overwhelmed at first, but I think I’ve found my place.”  They stepped into the back of the church.  “Our church doubles as our schoolhouse.”   She looked at Emily and fixed a stray tendril of hair before hugging her.  “I’m so glad to be getting a new sister.  I’m going to go take my seat.  Wait until you hear the music.”

Emily felt very alone at the back of the church.  She wished she didn’t have to walk down the aisle alone, but she’d have had to do that if she’d married back home as well.  There were no men who had been father figures to her.  She took deep steady breaths trying to calm her nerves.  She hated being the center of attention!

After a moment, she heard the music start, and slowly walked around the corner and started walking up the aisle toward Benjamin.  She saw two little blond heads in the front row peering at her with huge smiles and assumed they were the girls.  They were sitting with an older woman who stared straight ahead, not even turning around to see the bride. 

She walked straight to the front and took her place next to Benjamin.  He smiled down at her as Lars, the pastor, cleared his throat and began speaking.  Emily let the familiar words wash over her.  She’d not been to a great deal of weddings, but several of her school friends had married and she’d attended.  Everything passed in a blur and she was asked to face Benjamin.  Benjamin spoke his vows in a strong voice that carried throughout the church.  When it was Emily’s turn she mumbled the words.  Benjamin pushed a ring onto her finger and leaned down to kiss her for the first time.  Lars pronounced them man and wife and introduced them to the assembled crowd as Mr. and Mrs. Johnson.

Emily faced the audience, trying not to make eye contact with anyone.  After a moment she was nearly knocked over by the two blond girls she’d noticed on her way up the aisle.  She squatted down in her dress to meet them for the first time.

“I’m Emily,” she told them in her soft voice.

“You’re our mail order mama!”  The girl who spoke was the younger, so she immediately assumed she was Georgie. 

“You must be Georgie,” Emily told her smiling at the young girl.

Georgie nodded and pointed to her sister.  “That’s Abbie.  We’re really glad you’re here.”

“I’m so happy to meet you both.”  They hugged her again, and she stood back up next to Benjamin, urging the girls to stand with them.

Benjamin smiled down at her.  “Thank you for making them part of our wedding.”

“They’re our children.  Of course, they’re part of the wedding.”  She squeezed the hand of the older girl who was standing at her side.  She had recognized the look of shyness on the girl’s face and was pleased she’d be able to relate well to one of them.

The four of them walked to the back of the church together, several people stopping Benjamin to shake his hand along the way.  He introduced her to each of the people, but she knew she’d never remember their names.  They went out to the buggy and he helped her in and put the girls in the back seat.  “We’re going to
Mor’s
for the wedding supper.  The girls will spend the night with my parents tonight, and we’ll pick them up in the morning before I open the store at ten.”

Emily swallowed hard at the thought of their wedding night.  She wasn’t yet ready to think about it, though, so she sat silently on the drive out to his parents’ farm.  “How long will it take to get there?” she asked after a while.

“It’s a thirty minute drive,” he told her.  “I almost wish I hadn’t agreed to a wedding supper after being on the road all day, but I thought you’d want to celebrate our wedding.”  He looked over at her as she watched the scenery.  “You’d rather have skipped it, wouldn’t you?”

She nodded.  “It’s okay, though.  I’m just not good at meeting large groups of people all at once.”

“I’m sorry.  I should have waited and asked you.”  He pulled the buggy in front of a large farmhouse.  “Here we are.  I lived here until I married Anna.”  He walked around and helped her down while the girls scrambled down on their own. 

Abbie walked over and slipped her small hand into Emily’s.  “I’ll help you meet everyone.”

Emily smiled.  “Thank you, Abbie.”  Emily was glad Abbie was so much quieter than the rest of her large Norwegian family.  Emily and Abbie walked into the house hand in hand. 

Abbie led her straight to the woman who had refused to look at her in the church. “
Farmor
, this is our new mama, Emily.”  Abbie stood looking between the two women as if she expected something bad to happen.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Johnson.  Is there anything I can help you with?”  Emily was proud of how steady she kept her voice.  Every time she met someone new it was an effort to keep her voice loud enough to be heard.

Her new mother-in-law rounded on Emily, a scowl on her face.  “Not unless you know about Norwegian cooking.  Do you?”  Her voice sounded angry.

Emily swallowed hard, determined to get along with her new mother-in-law.  “No, Ma’am, but I’d be happy to learn.”

“Just stay out of the way.”  Ingrid turned back to her stove and the strong odors coming from it.

Emily looked to see if anyone other than Abbie had noticed the exchange, but no one appeared to be paying any attention.  The house was filled with blond Norwegians, and Emily felt out of place with her brunette hair.  She moved out of the way as she’d been asked and went to speak to Birgitta, Abbie still clinging to her hand.

Birgitta introduced her to several of her siblings, none of whom Emily would later remember.  She’d need to meet them one at a time to remember names and faces.  Today, she was simply overwhelmed by them all.

Everyone was polite with the single exception of her mother-in-law.  She refused to let it bother her, though.  The woman simply didn’t know her, and once she did, she’d come around.  She had to.

She sat next to Benjamin for the meal, and once Lars had said the prayer for all of them, they ate the huge meal.  She was only able to eat a few bites, but managed to make it look like more by pushing the food around on her plate.  She didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings by not eating the food they’d cooked, but she was so nervous, her throat felt like it was closing up. 

When it came time to cut the wedding cake, she glanced up at Benjamin as they held the knife together.  They sliced through the cake and cut small slices for each of them.  Emily took her fork and carefully fed a bite of the cake to Benjamin as she’d seen done at a wedding back home.  When Benjamin returned the favor, she forced herself to chew, but the cake tasted like sawdust to her. 

Abbie was still staying within a few feet of Emily at all times, obviously afraid her new mama was going to run off somewhere.

It was hours before the party finally ended, but it all passed in a blur for Emily.  She talked to the girls as much as she could while Benjamin laughed and joked with his brothers.  Emily would look up from time to time and always find Benjamin’s eyes on her.  She would blush and look down paying attention to whomever was speaking to her.

Once the guests had thinned out, Benjamin led Emily and the girls outside.  “It’s time for us to go home.  We’ll be back to get you first thing in the morning,” Benjamin promised the girls.

Abbie reached out to cling to Emily’s hand.  “Can’t we come home with you?”

Benjamin shook his head, squatting down until he was eye level with his older daughter.  “I’ll take good care of your new mama.  I promise.”

“I don’t want her to go away.”  The fear of losing her new mother was apparent in Abbie’s voice.

Emily hugged the child to her.  “I’m not going anywhere.  I came all this way on a train to be your mama.  How could I leave now before we’ve had a chance to do anything fun together?  I haven’t gotten to read to you or bake you a cake or cookies.  We haven’t even been on a picnic or a walk through the woods.  We’re going to do all those things just as soon as we can.  Okay?”

Abbie stared up at Emily in the darkness.  “You promise?”

Emily stroked her cheek.  “I promise.”  Emily knew she had her work cut out for her as she helped this little girl get over her fear of losing her.  How could she explain to her that even if she had somewhere else to go, she wouldn’t leave her?

“Me too?” Georgie asked, obviously not concerned just wanting to be included.