Interview for a Wife by Ruth Ann Nordin

Chapter Three

Aunt Marsha and Uncle Henry did most of the talking at dinner. Bill did what he could to add to the discussion, but he’d heard the stories they were telling Deanne and the children a dozen times already. He could practically recite them word for word.

What he most wanted to do was speak with Deanne in private. He didn’t get a chance to do that, though, because she volunteered to help his aunt do the dishes. He managed to resist the urge to tell her she didn’t need to help wash the dishes because he could tell it was important to her that she earn her keep. She didn’t want things just handed to her. He could respect that. In fact, it was an admirable trait. So he joined his uncle in sitting on the front porch and watched the children play in the yard.

The day had been a good one. Despite the amount of receipts he’d had to go through a second time because he found some in another pile on his desk after he thought he was all done recording them into his ledger, he did find the right woman to marry. He was beginning to worry he’d never find someone. Out of the six who had come to see him, five had wanted children of their own. There was one who was fine with the idea they’d never consummate the union. Then she blanched when she realized he was bound to a wheelchair, and he knew it would never work.

Deanne, thankfully, hadn’t been appalled by the fact that he was only half a man. There had been the flicker of surprise on her face, but it’d been quickly replaced with acceptance. It was then he knew the match would be a suitable one. It probably wasn’t going to lead to love, but he thought they might form a comfortable companionship.

“I think you picked a good woman to marry,” Uncle Henry said.

Bill took his attention off of Amber and Vernon so he could look at him.

Uncle Henry chuckled. “Your aunt told me Amber asked Deanne if she was going to be a good mother. Your aunt said that Amber isn’t sure if a woman who’s never been a mother before knows what to do.”

Bill smiled. “Amber was born a worrier. I think that’s why God let her be born first. That way she can look after her little brother.”

“She is a mother hen. I think she wouldn’t know what to do with her time if she didn’t have Vernon.”

“She’d find something to watch over.”

“She’s a sweet girl.”

“Yes, she is.” She reminded him a lot of Jennifer, and it comforted him to see that a part of Jennifer was going to live on in their daughter.

“Amber and Vernon will get used to Deanne,” his uncle said. “It’ll take some time, but they’ll adjust. Children are good about accepting changes. And, of course, your aunt and I will treat Deanne as part of the family.”

“I don’t think there will be any problems. Deanne has the same gentle look about her that Jennifer did. I’m glad she came. I was beginning to give up hope I was going to find someone.”

“The Lord answers prayers. Sometimes you just need to be patient. I’m sure Archie will be glad to get back to spending his days on the farm with his daughter and son-in-law and their newborn son.”

Bill gave his uncle an amused look. “Would you believe Archie’s grandson is almost six months old?”

“Already?”

“Yep.”

“It’s not right that little ones grow up so fast. It’s enough to make someone like me feel old.”

“You’re plenty young. You haul supplies all over town. As long as you can keep lifting heavy things, you’re young.”

“I won’t be young much longer if these little ones get to be adults.”

Bill chuckled.

The front door opened, and he saw his aunt looking at them in surprise. “What are you still doing here? I thought Henry was going to take you three home right after dinner.”

“I want to talk to Deanne about the preacher,” Bill replied.

“Why didn’t you say so? I would have made Henry help me with the dishes.” She gestured for Henry to go to the carriage house. “Go on and get the wagon ready so Bill and Deanne can talk alone.”

Henry rolled his eyes but was grinning as he left the porch.

“I’ll tell her to come out,” Marsha told Bill before she slipped back into the house.

Bill glanced at the children. They were still playing, though poor Vernon was already yawning. Bill could only hope he could keep the boy awake until they got home. If the boy fell asleep on the way home, it would take forever to get him to settle into bed for the night.

Deanne came onto the porch and hurried to sit next to him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you wished to have a word with me. I thought you and the children already left.”

“It’s alright. I just wanted to let you know that I spoke with the preacher. He said he’ll marry us when you return. I don’t know how much time you need in order to get your things ready.”

“I was supposed to move out of my apartment two days ago, but the owner gave me an extra week.”

“In that case, it sounds like it’d be best if you move here as soon as possible.”

“To be honest, it would. I can have everything done and be here in three days. I saw your ad while I was packing. I was ready to return to my family in Kentucky, but I’d much rather stay in Nebraska. I love it out here.”

“I’m glad to hear that because I love it out here, too.” He gave her a smile. “I won’t lie. It’ll be nice to have your help.”

“I’ll do anything I can.”

He didn’t doubt it. After talking to her at the store and seeing how she was around his family, he knew he was getting a good deal in this marriage. “When you come back, I’ll arrange for someone to get your trunk and have it delivered to my store. Henry can bring it to my house, but don’t be in a rush to unpack everything. I’m hoping to move into town before the year is up. Being in a wheelchair makes the tasks on the farm too difficult to manage. And that’s even after I sold the animals.”

“I’m sure you also want to live close to the store. I imagine you spend a lot of time there.”

“Sometimes I’m there for ten or twelve hours. It just depends on how far behind I get in the recordkeeping.”

“I hope I can help lessen your time on that. I don’t mean to brag, but I can do more than add and subtract numbers in my head.”

“I look forward to finding out how much you’ll surprise me,” he said.

“Vernon’s sleeping!” Amber called out as she ran over to them.

Bill looked over at his son who had fallen asleep in the grass. He sighed. “I better get home.”

“I’ll let your uncle and aunt know you’re ready to go.” Deanne stood up, gave Amber a smile that clued Bill in on how uncertain she was about her ability to be a mother, and went into the house.

“Pa, can’t we stay here tonight?” Amber asked. “I’m tired, too.”

“Aunt Marsha and Uncle Henry don’t have room for all of us,” he replied. “We’ll be home soon.”

His uncle pulled the wagon up to the house.

“See?” Bill gave her arm a pat. “Get your doll.”

As she ran to the house, he wheeled himself down the ramp. He was relieved Deanne would return within a few days. Archie would be happy about it, too. The poor man had done so much to help him, but he should be on his farm to help his daughter and her family.

His heart lighter than it’d been in quite some time, he went to the wagon while his uncle lifted a sleepy Vernon from the grass.

***

Two days later, Deanne was in the process of making sure she wasn’t going to leave anything in her apartment when a knock came at her door. The person turned out to be the wife of the man who owned the apartment building.

“How are you, Mrs. King?” she asked the woman. “I was about to go downstairs to tell you that I’ll be leaving tomorrow morning. Everything is packed and ready to go.”

“Oh, I didn’t come here to pester you about moving out again,” the woman replied. “I came to bring you this letter. I didn’t want you to forget to check your box, so I took the liberty of checking it for you.”

“Thank you.” Forcing the smile to stay on her face, Deanne accepted it from her. One thing she wasn’t going to miss was the woman’s habit of snooping into her business.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I couldn’t help noticing it’s from Alonzo and Betsy Cooper who are in Kentucky. You came from Kentucky. Are they your parents?”

“Yes,” she reluctantly answered. This was her last day in this apartment. She could manage to be pleasant for one more day.

“You never mentioned your parents,” the woman said. “I assumed they were dead.”

“Oh, well, I’m a private person. I don’t say much of anything to anyone.”

“Yes, that’s very true. It’s unfortunate. We could have gotten to know each other better. You missed a lot by not coming to my casual get-togethers with some of the other ladies in this apartment.”

Deanne hated it whenever she brought up the afternoons when she and the other busybodies in the apartment got together. Deanne suspected the coffee and card games were just an excuse to gossip. She had heard whispers of what those women had said about her and Terry over the years, especially when Terry visited Malorie a little too often and Malorie had the child that looked too much like him.

Hoping it would be enough to make the landlady go away, Deanne hugged her and said, “Thank you for all of the kindness you’ve shown me and Terry over the years.”

Thankfully, that did the trick. The woman smiled and patted her back. “I hope things go well for you in Lincoln.”

“It seems like it will. I’m looking forward to working.” Deanne had opted not to tell the woman about Bill or the fact that she was getting married. All she’d said was that she got a job in Lincoln.

“Sometimes the thing an aching heart needs is a purpose.”

“Yes, I agree, and this will give me a wonderful purpose.”

“Before you leave tomorrow, will you tell me? I want to know when I can put up an advertisement for the apartment.”

“I’ll let you know.”

Finally, mercifully, the woman left, and Deanne was able to return to her world of peace.