Summer 1911
Eddie – 17
Samantha – 16
EDDIE POV
Mrs. Ryland played with Eddie's tie. He insisted he could do it himself but his mother wanted to do it for the nostalgia. "Back in town. Just like old times." She said. The Rylands were staying in an inn at the moment. Mrs. Ryland pressed Eddie's suit jacket and put on her best earrings. "It's like we never left."She remembered her chat with Mary. Eddie knew his mother had exaggerated how far they had come. Mrs. Ryland was not getting work teaching as tastes changed. People did not have the luxury of hiring a private tutor anymore. Just this year, Mrs. Ryland had turned to doing laundry and other odd jobs to recover the lost salary. They were hardly close to their former status but they were not impoverished.
"The past is past, Mother." He reminded her. It would be dangerous if she slipped back into her old habits.
"Let me pretend, Edward."She snapped. She admired herself in the mirror some more. In truth, Eddie yearned for those days too. His mother no longer had the same sparkle in her eyes or the same flourish of hands.
He threw on his jacket and waited outside.
When the mother and son arrived arm-in-arm, the party was already in full swing.
"Eddie I will be at Mary's table. Behave yourself tonight." Ms. Edwards beckoned Mrs. Ryland.
Eddie was left alone at the entrance. He surveyed the party for any sign of Samantha. Then he noticed a group of girls giggling at him. Seconds later they were making their way towards him.
"Excuse me, are you Eddie Ryland?" One girl asked.
"The one and only."He said.
"I knew it was you! I told you, Charlotte." She turned to one of her friends. "We used to be in your class. It's us: Olivia Fordham and Clarisse Van Sicklen!"She said. He nodded at them both.
"I remember. I pulled out Clarisse's hair ribbon and got paint on your dress."He said.
"So you only remember us because we were your victims."Clarisse jested.
They talked over their shared memories as they walked towards the refreshments.
"You were such a nuisance in the fourth grade, but I see you've matured well." Olivia remarked.
"In more ways than one." She looked him up and down.
"So what have you been up to since you left us?" Clarisse put her hand on his forearm hoping to direct his attention back to her.
Eddie was not oblivious to the girls' affections. He had been flirted with and had flirted before. However, he only cared about one girl right now. Eddie pretended not to notice the touch because he didn't want to cause a scene. He carefully extricated himself to pour a drink.
"I'm a year away from finishing my studies." He said proudly.
"Gorgeous and smart." Clarisse squealed to Olivia.
"Excuse us while we powder are noses." The two ran off.
"Eddie?" A male voice called.
"Hm?" Eddie whipped around.
SAMANTHA POV
Samantha was working the crowd at her grandmother's request. Play a little piano and tell some good stories about her time in New York City. She just finished listening to Mrs. Leroux when she saw Eddie. He was finally alone. She saw that Olivia and Clarisse had approached him early on. She was annoyed that Eddie smiled and laughed with them when she saw them together. She pushed her jealousy down in order to socialize properly.
An hour later and he was already talking to another bothersome person: Jonathan Ayers. Jonathan was one of her many unfortunate suitors. While Samantha didn't like many of them because they were
bland, she actually hated Jon because he had an awful personality. He acted very kind on the surface but beneath that exterior he played mind games. He went to Lessing's Private School for Boys so she hadn't met him until a town function last year. In their first conversation he agreed with her every word. It was miraculous. Too miraculous. She later noticed he slipped in several questions about her inheritance. She learned that he thought he was entitled to a pretty girl and a good life just because he was born into it.
Anyway, she knew he was stirring up unnecessary trouble.
"Hello Eddie. Jonathan hasn't opened his mouth yet, has he?" She stood at Eddie's side.
"Yes, and he's been saying some pretty interesting things. Continue, Jon." Eddie said.
"Oh, um, well I was saying that men should receive a formal education. Apprenticing should be left in colonial days. If I were a single woman, I would want to be with a college man." He sniffed his wine.
"I see." Eddie gritted through his teeth. Samantha covered her growing smile. She saw the gears turning in his head. Eddie would get his revenge later. Whether it be physical or mental.
"Jon, why would you say that when I told you last week that Eddie was training at a firm?" Samantha preferred a more direct method.
Jon sputtered. "It slipped my mind, Miss Samantha!"
"Sure it did." She rolled her eyes.
Jon realized his mistake and changed topics. "Really, I feel sorry for you Eddie. Your mother looks so desperate tonight. If you ever need an excuse to leave early, you can count on me."
Samantha was shocked. Jon was rude but he wasn't usually this crass. Mrs. Ryland had been nothing but kind to her family. She admired that even though Mrs. Ryland wasn't able to afford the luxuries she used to she was always willing to give them to others. She could only imagine how Eddie felt.
"Thank you for your concern." He punctuated each word. Why wasn't he doing anything?
"I think I will take my leave. This room's too hot. I think I'd rather be in hell because the devil decided to join us all up here." With that he strutted to the door.
Samantha blamed Jonathan for Eddie's departure. She would need to find him before he left the property. But first... She formulated a plan. Something Eddie would have done.
"Here Jonathan. Let me get you the chef's special drink." She fake smiled. He gave her his wine glass. She walked to the bar. She made the grossest concoction she could with the available ingredients: Milk, tonic water, sugar, salt, pepper and cheese, fruit, and mustard.
"This is for you." She handed the mixture to Jonathan.
"Thank you, Miss Samantha." He was so flattered that he chugged the whole drink without inspecting its contents.
Samantha started searching for Eddie before she could see his reaction.
She walked outside just to see Eddie standing on the porch looking at the night sky.
"Eddie?" She said.
"Sam." His voice was clipped.
"Sorry Jonathan said those horrible things."She rubbed her arms.
"Don't worry." He said.
"No, Eddie I should stopped him before he started talking about -" He cut her off.
"It's not your fault, Sam. I mean it." He took her hand in his. She basked in the familiarity of this action. He turned his body to face her. Then he placed his hand on her cheek. She lifted her head. She searched her expression. They had been here before. Samantha felt doubt that they would move past anything more.
"Samantha." He broke the silence.
"Yes, Eddie?"She tilted her head into his palm.
Eddie smiled at this.
"I'd hate for you to end up with someone elitist like him. No. That's not true. There are plenty of decent college men out there. The truth is..." Something flickered in his eyes. "I'm jealous of whoever you'll choose. Which is why I want you to consider me a candidate." The intensity of his voice convinced her that he was serious.
"You were a candidate long ago, Eddie Ryland." She grinned.
When he was talking the space between them had gotten smaller. Samantha could feel Eddie's breath with each word. She looked at him through half-lidded eyes. Then their lips were touching. Eddie inhaled and positioned his hands on Samantha's waist. Samantha looped her arms around his neck. It felt like they had just discovered each other's lips for the first time. His were warm. Samantha felt feverish. When they stopped she rested her head on his chest. He held onto her a couple minutes more