Dovetail: A Novel(49)
He let go of her hand but still looked concerned. “Has someone been bothering you at the store?”
“No, nothing like that.”
Doris interrupted the conversation, stopping to whisk away their plates in one swift motion. “You’ll be having pie, then?” she said, as if it were a given.
“Cherry for me, please,” Kathleen said, glad to let the discussion rest.
Joe said, “I’ll have banana cream.”
“And then we’ll have separate checks,” Kathleen added.
“Not a problem.”
Doris’s head bobbed for just a moment before she left the table to get their dessert. Something about her approving gesture lifted the weight from Kathleen’s chest. There was nothing menacing here. She was out to lunch with her new friend, Joe Arneson, in the Pine Cone Family Restaurant in Pullman, Wisconsin. It was a beautiful sunny day. Her past was behind her. Knowing Ricky and his need to be in the spotlight, he’d probably moved on by now and was wrapped in the arms of another woman.
He had no reason to seek her out. There was no reason to be afraid.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
1916
Was there any smell better than sun-dried laundry? Alice thought it was worth the work just to be able to take in the freshness once it was dry. She lifted a damp sheet and pinned it on the line, still clutching the other end with her free hand. Sheets could be tricky. One slip, and the sheet would fall to the ground, and then the whole washing process would have to be done over again. That was a mistake no one was apt to make twice.
Laundry day was her least favorite day of the week, but when the weather was nice, it more than made up for it. Alice sang as she worked, glad for the gentle breeze and the feel of the sun on her face.
The apron tied around her middle held a pocketful of wooden clothespins, the same pins that doubled as little people when Daisy wanted to create whole towns on the kitchen floor while Alice cooked dinner. Pearl always tried to shoo their youngest sister away, saying she was underfoot and might cause someone to trip, but Alice had the last word in the kitchen, and so Daisy stayed. She liked having her little one close by. Knowing where Daisy was and seeing her happily occupied was reassuring.
As if Alice’s thoughts had conjured her, Daisy’s face popped up over the other side of the clothesline. “Alice, look at me! I’m a giant,” she said, giggling madly. The sun illuminated her crazy curls, making a halo effect.
“Daisy!” Alice shrieked in mock surprise. “How did you get up so high? Did you grow when I wasn’t looking?” She opened her mouth and pressed her hands to her cheeks in pretend amazement.
“No, Alice. I didn’t growed any bigger. John is holding me up!” Daisy yelled.
John’s face suddenly came up alongside Daisy’s. “My apologies if we scared you. I was just following Miss Daisy’s plan.”
Alice ducked through the gap in the sheets to join them on the other side. John lowered Daisy to the ground. “I do not scare that easily,” she said with a smile. She handed the empty wicker basket to Daisy. “If you would please put this on the front porch for me, I’d be ever so grateful.”
Daisy smiled up at her. The child loved to help. “Can I play boat captain?”
“Yes, you may.”
The basket was nearly as big as Daisy, but the little girl managed to keep it off the ground as she headed toward the porch. John took a step toward the child, but Alice put out an arm to stop him. “Don’t help her,” she said. “I know the temptation to step in and offer assistance, but she needs to learn to do things on her own.”
“I’m sorry.”
She faced him, her eyes kind. “You don’t have to be sorry. You didn’t know. I just have to teach her all the lessons my mother taught me, and it begins with learning to do for herself. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about my mother and everything I learned from her. I’m glad she taught me well so I can pass it on to the younger ones.”
“So much has fallen on your shoulders. You seem to do everything around here.”
She shrugged. “God has given me two good hands and a strong back and the will to be of service. My father provides well for us, but someone has to take care of the house and my sisters, and as the oldest, it has fallen to me.”
A thoughtful expression came over his face. “You’ve a fine disposition, considering your circumstances. Your father and sisters are fortunate to have you.”
“And I am fortunate to have them.”
“I’m not family, so perhaps this isn’t my place, but . . .” He shook his head. “Never mind. You will think I’m rude.”
“No, please share your thoughts. I hope you know you can speak your mind with me.” Her eyes searched his face. “Just tell me. I promise I won’t think badly of you.”
“It’s just . . . could Pearl not be doing more to help you? She also has two hands and a strong back. I see you work so hard while she does so little. Could someone speak to her and ask her to spend more time doing housework and help share the load? Your father, maybe?”
Alice hesitated a moment before answering. “Pearl has the hands and the back, but sadly for her, she wasn’t given the gift of wanting to be of service. Any attempts to press her into work would be met with resentment and resistance, so there’s no use forcing the issue. I would rather work joyfully on my own than work side by side with my sister when she is in a foul mood.”