A Mail Order Bride for the Undertaker (Love by Mail #1)(9)
“Thank you very much, Mercy!”
Although Hannah seemed to be a nice girl, Mercy noticed that she fidgeted a lot. She didn’t look Mercy in the eye and held her head low.
“I’m new here and don’t really know anyone…”
Hannah stopped munching on her cookie and looked at Mercy. In a soft voice she said, “Well I haven’t been here long either.”
“Oh?” Mercy led Hannah to a bench near the town church. She sat down and placed the basket between them.
“In fact, it will be a year next month.” Hannah kept her head low and voice soft.
Mercy tried to keep their conversation lively; the girl was, after all, the only person except the pastor and his sister, and her husband of course, who treated her kindly in this town. “Is your family here with you?”
“No,” Hannah replied, “just me and my husband.”
Mercy clasped her hands in joy, “That must be great! A couple starting their own family.” Just like Cole and me. “Congratulations, Hannah!”
Hannah didn’t seem to exude the same joy that Mercy had displayed. She dropped her head and awkwardly thanked Mercy. “It’s the first time someone’s ever congratulated me on my marriage.”
“How so?” Mercy asked.
Hannah cleared her throat but still kept her voice low, “You see, I was a mail order bride.”
No wonder she felt such a kinship to the girl.
“Hannah.” Mercy wrapped her hands around her fragile hands. “I’m a mail-order bride, too. I came here to live with my husband, Cole Beckett.”
Hannah shot her a shocked look and quickly stood up. “Cole Beckett’s wife…” She trailed off and looked more confused. “Uh – excuse me, Mercy, but I forgot my chores at home. I have to run along now. Thank you for the cookies.”
In a split second, she was gone.
Baffled by Hannah’s sudden reaction, Mercy stood planted on the dusty road. With the heat getting worse and no takers for her cookies except a few children running around she decided to just go home.
*
The door creaked and Mercy heard lively whistling coming from the front porch.
“I’m home!” Cole exclaimed with a voice that echoed throughout their home.
Mercy set the table and their main course. “Dinner’s ready,” she called back.
Cole stood in the doorway with his hands behind his back. Mercy positioned herself at the end of the table. “Come on, let’s have dinner.”
“I – er – have some flowers for you.” Cole shyly extended his daffodil-filled hand in the air.
Mercy blushed and took the flowers. She retrieved an old pitcher and filled it with water. The daffodils, placed on the kitchen counter, added color in the rather dull room.
Cole pulled the chair at the other end and plopped down, “I’m famished.” Mercy chuckled. They said grace, and Cole looked at her from across the table.
“How was your trip to town?” Cole munched on his potatoes, glancing at Mercy from time to time. “Did you make any friends?”
“I did.” But she ran away once she knew who I was. “Her name’s Hannah. She’s lovely yet very timid.”
“Did you talk?” Cole gulped down his cup of water.
“For a short time,” Mercy replied. “She had household chores to do.”
Cole nodded and smiled. “Good to know you made friends.”
“She’s a mail order bride, too.”
Mercy watched Cole as he paused for a second. He continued chewing and said, “Well, she’s the first person you talked to, that would make her a good friend. The rest of the townspeople are a bit – wary of strangers and outsiders…”
Mercy nodded and smiled. Cole’s plate was empty now. “Mercy, we’re going on an early trip tomorrow morning to the next town to deliver a casket. I suggest we go to bed early.”
Mercy blushed deep red. Cole’s eyes widened and he said, “I meant - I - we should go to bed - in our separate rooms.”
“Y-yes,” Mercy blurted. Then, she pursed her lips and turned to do the dishes.
From behind her, Cole cleared his throat loudly and trudged up the stairs. When Mercy finished her chores, she followed. She passed by Cole’s room and saw him kneeling. And she realized the first thing they should have done as husband and wife.
She pressed her hands on her skirt and knocked on the open door. Cole looked at her.
“May I join you? In prayer?”
Cole looked at her, then at the small cross nailed to the wall beside his bed. “Of - of course.”
“Father Hector, from the orphanage, always said, ‘A family that prays together, stays together’.” Mercy knelt beside Cole, and he smiled at her.
“In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” Mercy started. She offered prayers of thanks for their lives and their healthy bodies; she spoke of the well-being of the townspeople and asked the Lord to bless them. Lastly, she prayed for Cole, his work, and his life.
“Amen.”
They said it in unison and stood together. Mercy found she was face to face with Cole. “Thank you for praying for me, Mercy.” His warm breath ghosted over her forehead, and his eyes made her dizzy.
Mercy opened her mouth to say something but her throat clenched when Cole planted a kiss on her forehead.