BBW ROMANCE: BWWM Romance: A Cowboy’s Southern Comfort (Military Cowboy Pregnancy Romance) (Interracial Army Contemporary Fantasy Romance Short Stories) (5 page)

“Don’t worry,” I told her. “Aunt Martha and Grandmother will work it out. We’ll be fine.”

Even I heard the hesitation in my voice as the words fell from my lips. I prayed that God would make me believe them. But, a little block, like a wall inside my heart told me that they were not true.

“But, Aunt Martha says she can’t afford to keep both of us,” Rose said urgently. “Not with all the other children and Uncle James being away so much.”

“Then maybe Grandmama will take us both,” I answered. Rose looked at me skeptically. I couldn’t blame her.

When Grandmama spoke to Aunt Martha at the funeral, she talked about helping Aunt Martha by ‘taking one of them’, and both Rose and I knew already which one it would be.

“Listen,” I told Rose finally. “No matter what happens, I’ll make sure we find a way to stay together.”

“Even if Grandmama takes me away?” Rose asked.

“Even then,” I promised. Deep down I knew it was a promise I wouldn’t be able to keep. I knew that if Grandmama and Aunt Martha decided to split us up, I would not be able to stop them. None the less, I knew there was one promise I could keep. And nothing they did would be able to break it.

“We’re sisters, Rose,” I told her. “They can’t take that away from us. Even if they try.”

Rose moved closer to me and wrapped her small arms around my waist. It was as though I was a pillar or an anchor holding her down in a wild hurricane. I put my hand on her back and started to make soothing circles against it just like our Mama used to. I heard Rose heave a sigh as she closed her eyes, laying her head against my chest. We stayed like that for a good long while. Rose leaning against me, me rubbing her back and humming tunelessly.

We both jumped apart when the door to the parlor shot open. We turned to see our Aunt step out followed by Grandmama.

Grandmama looked at us sternly. Rose, shaking slightly, stood from her spot and put her hands neatly in front of her. I followed her lead.

“Well,” Grandmama said looking down at us. “Your Aunt and I have come to a decision as to what to do with you, girls.”

My heart began to beat in my chest and a large lump formed inside my throat. Instinctively, I reached over and grabbed hold of Rose’s hand.

“Rose,” Grandmama said looking down at my little sister. “You will live here with me. I have made arrangements for a governess who will be in charge of your education. You will also have dancing and music lessons.”

“Grandmama,” Rose said in a small voice. “What about Mary?”

Grandmama turned her cold, blue eyes on me and I immediately wanted to shrink away from her. None the less, I tried to return her stare.

“Your sister,” Grandmama began, her voice full of contempt when she addressed me. “Will stay with your Aunt and Uncle. The two of you will have to say your goodbyes now.”

Before Grandmama had even finished, Rose let out a loud sob and held more tightly to my hand.

“Oh, please, Grandmama!” She said, “Please let Mary stay with us too!”

“I have neither the funds nor the patience to educate both of you,” Grandmama said. “And as you show the most promise, Rose, it is only right that I should take you on.”

“But, I can’t! I...I can’t stay here without Mary!” Rose’s sniffles turned into full blown sobs. As I kneeled down to hold my sister, I saw Grandmama turn towards Aunt Martha.

“Mrs. Mcgovern,” Grandmama said. “I suggest you take your niece now before she disrupts things further.”

When I saw my aunt nod, I knew I didn’t have much time.

“Remember what I told you, Rose,” I whispered into her ear. “We’re sisters. No matter what. I’ll find you one day. We’ll be together again.”

As soon as the words left my mouth, I felt a tug at my arm pulling me up and away from Rose.

“Come along Mary,” Aunt Martha said. She kept a firm hold on my arm as she walked me towards the front door.

When we reached it, I could still hear my sister sobbing in the hall. I turned back over my shoulder to look at her.

The last image I hold of my sister is of her tearstained face as Grandmama held her by the arm. None the less, her eyes met mine straight on and begged me not to leave her.

I wanted to say something. I wanted to rush back into the house, grab hold of my sister and never let her go.

But, before I could act on this impulsive notion, Aunt Martha yanked at my arm and pulled me out the front door.

From that time onward, when I fell asleep at night, my sister’s sobs still rang in my ears. I kept hold of my impossible promise. Dreaming that, one day, the two of us would be together again.

***

Ten years passed and I had, thus far, not been able to keep my promise. Though, it was not for lack of trying.

Ever since we were separated, I was forever asking my aunt if I could write to Rose. I wanted, at the very least, to let her know that I had not forgotten about her.

But, Aunt Martha’s answer was always the same.

“Your Grandmother won’t allow it,” she told me. “She doesn’t want anything to distract Rose from her studies.”

I tried my best to accept this explanation. I tried to pretend that it made sense. I tried to pretend that I did not know the true reason Grandmama refused my requests.

The truth was, Grandmama knew that I was lacking. I was always direct and honest. And so lacked what the proper people called manners. When it came to school, nothing but what was practical could hold my interest.

I excelled in cooking and hygiene but saw no purpose in things like arithmetic. Grandmama was worried that my unrefined character would influence Rose. She intended to turn my sister into a fine Bostonian lady. Fine ladies did not associate with commoners. And, I was as common as they came.

None the less, I still wrote to my sister. Once a week, I would take out a piece of paper and pencil and carefully write out everything I wanted to tell her. I told her about my frustrations living with our Aunt and Uncle in a house that was too small. Where I was forced to care for my eight younger cousins.

I wrote to her when I found work at the textile mill near our tenement. I told her about the freedom I felt at finally being allowed to leave the house. To finally have something that was mine. It did not matter that most of my income went straight back to Uncle James and Aunt Martha to ‘keep up the home’.

I wrote to Rose when I met Sean, the textile factory foreman, for the first time. And I told her when he offered to walk me home one day after work. When these walks with Sean became more and more frequent, they made up the bulk of my correspondence.

Three months later, when Sean proposed marriage, I wrote Rose my longest letter yet. Once I accepted Sean’s proposal, I rushed home in a flurry of excitement.

By the light of a single, lit candle on the window sill above my bed, I hurriedly recounted every sight, every sound and every feeling of that perfect moment to Rose. Wishing above all else that I could speak to her about it all myself. That she could be there to share my unbridled joy at sharing my life with this beyond perfect man.

Instead, when I finished the letter, in the early hours of the morning, I folded it and placed it in a large, ornate trunk beneath my bed. That was where all my letters to Rose were stored. One day, I told myself, I would be able to show them to her. One day, when our family was whole again.

Two months before my wedding, I wrote Rose another letter. This time, I wrote while sitting at my workstation in the factory.

Work hours had long since ended. But, the owner, Mr. Price, had asked to speak with Sean. Sean told me that I could go home with the other girls if I liked. But, I said I would wait.

I had walked home with Sean every night since the first. I was not planning on breaking that routine. Especially now that our wedding day was so close. Besides, Sean had been waiting for Mr. Price to call him into his office for months. Now that he finally had, I was impatient to know the result of their meeting.

That was what I was writing to Rose about. My excitement and anxiety over Sean’s future prospects. It was rumored that Mr. Price was looking for a new assistant. One who would work alongside Mr. Price in his office. And, rumor also had it, that Sean had been discussed for the position.

I had almost dismissed the talk. After all, two months had passed since the rumors started and still, nothing came of it.

But, when Mr. Price called Sean into his office after work that day, all of my hopes were renewed.

I ended my letter to Rose almost wishing that I did not have to keep her in suspense. Even though I knew she was not likely to read my thoughts any time soon, writing them out reminded me of my own nervous anxiety.

When I wrote my signature, I paused before folding the paper in half. I looked up to the Mr. Price’s office. I could still see the lamp burning from the tinted window. That meant they were still meeting.

My letter finished, there was nothing left to do but tap my fingers on the table and wait.

Thankfully, I was not waiting long when the lamp light went out in Mr. Price’s office. My heart leaped when the door opened.

I saw Mr. Price’s tall, large frame exit first. He wore a clean dark suit and, even in the dim light, I could see a gold chain shimmering from his waistcoat.

As soon as Mr. Price stepped out, a boy not as tall nor as large followed. Sean’s reddish blonde hair was swept to one side over his freckled face. My nerves relaxed when his eyes met mine over the tall railing. He gave me a bright grin and a wink. Things must have gone well. 

I stood as I watched them walk down the tall staircase to the factory floor.

“So, I’ll tell the sweepers to expect you early tomorrow morning, O'Connell,” Mr. Price was saying.

“Yes sir,” Sean Said. “I’ll be here.”

“Good,” Mr. Price said. “And, remember, if you can get this next shipment out on schedule, we’ll have another discussion about your future here.”

They stopped at the bottom of the stairs and I could see the excitement in Sean’s eyes. Though my own heart fell just a bit.

“Thank you, sir,” Sean said eagerly. The two men shook hands and Mr. Price turned to leave. As he did, he seemed surprised to see me still at my station. I saw him glance between me and Sean, then a look of recognition passed over his face. Price gave me a small smile and tipped his hat before moving to the back exit of the factory.

As soon as he was out of sight, Sean rushed over to me.

“How did it go?” I asked him as soon as he reached me. He smiled again as he helped me gather my things.

“I think I’m going to get it, Mary,” Sean said. I could hear the Irish lilt he was born with come into his voice. Over the years, he’d tried hard to hide his accent, but it always came out when he was excited.

“Did he say anything definite?” I asked. Mr. Price had dangled promotions in front of foremen before in exchange for faster work. Sometimes the promotions or pay raises were received, sometimes they weren’t.

“You heard him on the stairs,” Sean said as we walked out the factory doors and started down the street. “He just wants to wait until this quarter's product is out. Then he’ll give it to me.”

“That’s not exactly what he said,” I told him skeptically.

“Not in so many words, maybe,” Sean said to me. “But, he’s all but promised. If I just work a little harder to make sure this shipment gets out-”

“And by harder, he means he wants you to come in early for no pay?” I asked.

Sean stopped in his tracks and touched my shoulders to stop me as well. The grin had faded from his face and I could see exasperation written on his face.

“Mary,” he told me with a sigh. “It can’t be helped.”

“Can’t it?” I asked. I knew I shouldn’t be so demanding with Sean. But, I hated the idea of Sean being taken advantage of.

“You know we need this, Mary,” he told me. “Without a raise in my pay, we’ll hardly be able to afford a wedding. Let alone a proper home.”

I pursed my lips and turned away. I had no answer for that. I knew he was right. I knew that Sean had to do everything in his power to get this promotion. If he didn’t, we would spend the first years of our married life living in a tenement with his parents and three younger brothers.

Reluctantly, I nodded and began walking once more. Sean followed behind me. In no time, he was walking beside me.

“I wish we could give up factory life,” I told him. “I wish we could leave the city altogether. Run a little farm somewhere out west.”

“I know you do,” Sean said. We’d talked about it before. Neither of us had any desire to stay in Boston. That was what had brought us together.

“And, I promise,” Sean said. “As soon as we’ve saved up enough, I’ll find a place for us. Somewhere far away from all of this.”

I allowed a smile to creep across my face. This was my favorite game. We would pick a new city out west and talk about going there when we were able. We’d talked of Oregon and California even Texas on occasion.

“Where will we go this time?” I asked.

“I’ve heard about a new town out west,” Sean tells me. “It’s in New Mexico. They call it Santa Fe.”