Dovetail(6)

Pearl tapped her foot impatiently. “Would it help if I showed you some identification?” She rummaged through her purse and handed him her driver’s license. She fixed her eyes on him as he read it over.

After a minute, he handed it back to her. “Looks official,” he said.

“That’s because it is official.” She tucked it back into her wallet. “I know this is a lot to take in. I’m sorry for that, but you should know I can’t make you do anything. Stay here, or go with me. It’s up to you.”

Joe lifted the bag to his shoulder. She was making progress. “Okay, I’ll go to your house. But I’m not saying I’ll stay.”

“Whatever you want,” Pearl said smoothly. “It will be entirely your choice. It’s not like I can force you to stay, after all.”

“I’ll want to call home as soon as we get there to let my folks know where I am,” Joe said, as if this was conditional.

“Of course. I understand that you wouldn’t want them to worry.” She reached over and opened the back door to the car and gestured for him to get in. “As soon as we get there, you can call.”





CHAPTER FOUR





1916


“Pearl! Pearl!” Alice called out as she dashed up the stairwell. Pearl had snuck away for a midafternoon nap and was now curled up on top of the coverlet of the bed she shared with Alice. Her eyes were closed, her mind envisioning the day she’d be strolling down the avenues of Paris, France, dressed in the latest fashion, getting admiring glances from every man who crossed her path. Goodbye to Pullman, Wisconsin. Once Pearl made her debut to the world, she’d never look back.

Alice burst through the door. “Pearl, you lazy thing! Come with me.” She gave her sister’s shoulder a nudge. “You’re missing all the excitement. You have to come see what Father is making out in the barn.”

“Oh, Alice,” Pearl groaned. “I was right in the middle of the loveliest daydream.”

“You shouldn’t be lying down in the middle of the day anyway. Unless you’re sick?” Alice rested a hand on her forehead.

“Sick of doing chores. Does that count?”

“No, it does not.” Alice took both of Pearl’s hands and pulled her to her feet.

Pearl reluctantly followed her down the stairs. “Can’t you just tell me?”

“No. You have to see it for yourself.”

The girls walked from the house to the barn, with Alice in the lead, nearly giddy with excitement. She spun around, walking backward for a moment to talk. “It’s so beautiful, Pearl. Wait till you see.” Pushing open the barn door, she led Pearl past the empty stalls, the ones that housed their cow and two horses at night, and went straight to the corner of the barn that served as their father’s woodworking shop. They found him kneeling in front of a chest, holding a drill steady with one hand, turning the crank with the other. Little Daisy stood next to him, watching with wide eyes.

Hearing the girls, he set down the drill and grinned. “What do you think, Pearl?”

She circled around and then paused to lean in closer. As far as she could tell, there was nothing extraordinary about this box. “What is it?”

Daisy piped up. “It’s a hope chest for Alice.”

“Isn’t it gorgeous?” Alice said, clasping her hands together. “Father has been working on it on the sly, but I caught him at it today.”

Their father laughed. “Do you know how hard it is to keep a secret in a house full of seven girls? I had a feeling one of you would find out before I finished.”

Alice ran her hand over the top. “It’s made from solid oak and lined with cedar to keep out the moths. Father is going to carve the top with whatever kind of picture I want. I have an idea to show songbirds with a heart in the middle.” She traced a heart with her fingertip.

Their father nodded. “That would be pretty, and just right for you, my little Ally-bird. I’m no artist, but if you draw it on paper, I’ll do the best I can.”

“He’s going to put brass hinges on it and a brass latch.” Alice gave her father a sunny smile.

“A hope chest?” Pearl said, frowning. “But isn’t that for when you get married? I thought you didn’t want to marry Frank.”

“I don’t want to marry Frank, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to marry someone.” Daisy lifted her arms, and Alice scooped her up. “And someday I’ll have a little petunia of my own, and I’ll be glad to have a chest full of fancy linens and blankets and candle holders.” She rested her forehead against Daisy’s, and the little girl patted her cheek.

“But if not Frank, then who?” Pearl wondered. “Who would you marry?” And more importantly, she thought, who would actually want to marry Alice? Plain Alice with her straight brown hair and the freckles that crossed from her cheeks over the bridge of her nose. When she smiled or sang, she could almost pass for pretty, but still, she was nothing out of the ordinary. And she was such a stick-in-the-mud considering she was only a year and a half older than Pearl. Boys liked girls like Pearl, girls who complimented them and laughed at their jokes. Alice was so serious, thinking everything through. She didn’t even try to curry their favor.