The River Widow(27)
With the Branch family standing together and a gathering of mourners behind them and at their sides, the minister shared his final words on the matter of Lester Branch’s demise and asked Adah to come forward. She moved as if sleepwalking, letting go of Daisy’s hand and stepping up to the grave’s edge.
After her husband’s body was lowered into the ground, Adah tossed the first clumps of crumbling sable-brown earth on the casket, willing time to pass quickly, needing this to be over—this last step in saying goodbye to her husband. Despite her resolve, her hands were trembling so badly that a woman moved forward from the gathering of mourners to put her arm around Adah’s shoulders.
“Tough to lose a husband,” the woman whispered in Adah’s ear. “I lost mine, too.”
Adah turned her head and gazed into the weathered face of an older woman who, although dressed primly, looked capable of kindness. Smile lines tracked her face, and her soft olive-green eyes were surrounded by fleshy lids. The woman had probably once been beautiful.
She had long, tapered fingers like that of a pianist. Elegant fingers, and hands that had seen little harsh sun or hard work. Did this woman own a piano? During the cleanup, more than 2,500 of the estimated 3,200 pianos in the city were found in ruin—only one of the devastating effects of the flood—and would be dumped on the east side of the Illinois Central roundhouse. All that music, silenced.
Adah stood still for a moment under the touch of a human hand. Then, as she looked closer, she recognized the woman. She lived on the same road as the Branches in a large stately farmhouse surrounded by lovely lands. Adah took a step back from the grave, and the woman seemed to instinctively know to steer Adah farther away, that she had had enough. The service was ending anyway.
“Thank you for your kindness,” Adah finally said.
“Of course, of course,” the woman said and took a small step back while still holding Adah’s arm, then glanced at the Branches. Was she surprised that no one in the family had come forward to offer comfort to the wife of the deceased? Was Mabel’s attempt at making them look like a happy family failing?
Gathering her wits, her thoughts in disarray, Adah said, “You live near us, don’t you? I’ve seen you out in front of your house.”
The woman said, “I’m Florence Wainwright, and yes, I do live down the road.”
Adah’s mouth was dry and she was still trembling, but she had to make use of this rare contact with the outside world. “It was so kind of you to come.”
Florence nodded once. “It was the right thing to do.”
Adah had to fight the urge to bite her nails. She glanced around and saw that others were out of earshot for the moment. Turning back to Florence, she said, “May I ask you a question?” Without waiting for an answer, she continued. “I need to find some work. Would you have any need of help with laundry or mending?”
A frown and a questioning expression rode over Florence’s face. “Well, no. But why do you ask, my dear?”
“I need to keep busy these days. I’m trying to find some laundry customers in the area, people nearby if possible.”
“I’m sorry, but it’s just me and my youngest son now, so not much to launder. I have a man who does the little bit we need done. He’s a good worker, and I have no reason to replace him.”
Adah glanced about. “Would you know of anyone else in the area who might need help?”
Florence finally let loose of Adah’s arm and placed her right forefinger against her chin. “Well, let me think on that for a moment.” She began tapping her chin. “There’s a family up our same road that’s full of kids. I think there’s eight of them, at last count.” She brightened. “Oh, come to think of it, an elderly couple live nearby, too. They’ve sold off the land but still live in the house. Both of them’re getting frail, so you could check with them. See if they don’t already have a laundry man or are willing to switch over to you, especially if your rates are lower. And I just thought of a bachelor man farming on his own, too.”
“I’d be much obliged if you could tell me where to go to meet them. And since I’m new to this type of work, how much do you think I should charge?”
“Well . . . let me see. If you’ll do a week’s worth of laundry for two dollars, that would make your fee dirt cheap, and I’d be willing to bet you’ll get some customers.”
Dirt cheap sounded just right to Adah. “Thank you.”
Florence was staring unabashedly now. “Sure, honey, but are you certain you should be thinking about working at a time like this? Maybe you need to let it all sink in. Take some time to work through it all, get all your sadness out of your system. You have to have some really hard cries, I know. We all reckoned Lester was lost for good a while back, but it still must have been a shock, finding him like that . . .”
A flashback of Lester’s body on the coroner’s table, and a shiver rode up Adah’s arms. She rubbed them as though she could banish memories that way. “That’s exactly why I need to do something with myself.”
The kindness hadn’t left Florence’s face, and Adah found herself mesmerized. Other than the loving looks she received from Daisy, Adah hadn’t experienced a single sweet expression since the Lerners and relief workers had helped her after the flood.