-To Lovejag: Sooo glad u liked it...and hope u like the ending just as good!
-To Lilyiia: Thanks so much for your review!
-Chapter Eight:
"Issac! Issac Appleby! You get out here this minute before the rain comes and soaks my ten-dollar hat!" I was standing up on the roof now; heedless of my safety. Waving my arms and shouting a loud as I could I tried to ignore Melissa's laugh of triumph.
But I didn't care. I was not going to spend any longer on this shed roof, guarded by a dog, and beset all day by heat and sun. I could stand that...but it was the on-coming thunderstorm that did me in.
"Issac!" I shouted again. The easily-excitable Julius Caesar started howling with me, clawing the side of the shed wall in eagerness. But even that brute of a dog didn't scare me anymore. I was willing to do anything to save my ten-dollar hat...even marry an old bachelor.
Now that I look back on this I don't think I was really in my right mind. The heat had probably made me slightly crazy for the day. Otherwise why would I have done such an undignified thing?
Finally I saw Isaac racing down the path from his house to the shed. He was wrestling on a coat and I saw it was full of holes...there were crude patches on the sleeves too, places where he had probably tried to do his own mending. And men think they can live without us!
"Ladies, he shouted to us through the whistling of the wind. "There's a storm coming up pretty soon."
"Really? We hadn't noticed except for the fact that both of us are half-soaked!" replied Melissa bitterly. "Surely you won't let us die out here on your shed. You'll have to let us down now."
Issac was silent. Melissa had a good point but the Applebys were always stubborn.
And I wasn't about to take chances.
'Issac," I called down. "If you put the ladder back up and promise to dispose of that dog before I come...I will agree to marry you."
"Anne..." was all he could say, and as I met his brown eyes I could see a sense of relief. Was it because I had saved him from Melissa? Or because now he would no longer have to eat his own dreadful cooking?
As he slowly picked up the ladder and leaned it against the shed I tried to calm myself. I tried to be as dignified as my previous outburst would let me.
What with the wind and my wide berth the ladder shook a little as I started to climb down. So Issac considerately held it for me...turning his head even though my wet skirt was too heavy for the wind to lift up. But the Appblebys have always been gentlemen. Before I stepped off the last rung I looked timidly at the dog which was standing near Issac; it's mouth open and panting heavily.
But Issac whistled and the dog ran off towards the house and I was able to step off the ladder without fear of being attacked by a dog.
I noticed smugly that Issac did not hold the ladder for Melissa and that my cousin was awful white after climbing down the ladder which had been shaking pretty bad in a gust of wind. I felt no sympathy for her...especially since I was the one sacrificing.
Right after that it started to rain harder and we ran into Issac's house where we dried off in front of a fire.
"I'll let you know that while I plan to marry you," I said to him matter-of-factly. "I will make you sorry for it."
"I'll take that risk, Anne," he replied. "And of course, I'll sell the dog. I won't need him now that I've got you." He meant to be complimentary but you wouldn't have thought do by the look on the dog's face.
"And I've only agreed to marry you for a couple reasons," I continued. "One: because I am sorry for you. Sorry that you have to live on your cooking which, by the way, is terrible."
"It wasn't that bad," he muttered.
"And two because I don't like seeing a man ruin his clothes by trying to mend them himself."
"I agree," he said.
"And one more thing," I said. Not forgetting our original reason for coming here. "We were wondering if you would donate some money to the church on behalf of cushioning the pews."
Issac looked at me and looked at the clipboard.
"How much do you need?" he wanted to know.
"We're trying to raise a hundred and fifty dollars."
"And how much do you have so far?"
"Eighty."
Issac thought a moment and then said agreeably.
"Put me down for the rest. I'll donate seventy dollars."
At least my husband isn't afraid to open his wallet.
We stayed there for a couple more hours until the rain cleared up. Then we headed off home. Issac offered to drive us...but I wanted to talk to Melissa.
"I knew you would be the one to break down and agree," she said triumphantly.
"Issac is a good man." I said. "He's a gentleman and is not afraid to use his money."
"You didn't say so before on the shed," she implied nastily.
I didn't reply.
"I plan to tell the sheriff everything when we get home. About how Issac Appleby is forcing you to marry him and how he kept us up on that shed all day."
I still didn't speak.
"I'm sure the sheriff will see that you don't have to really marry him. I'm sure there's a way you can escape that fate."
"What if I don't want to?" I suddenly asked.
Melissa stopped dead in her tracks out of shock. "Surely you can't mean you really are planning on marrying that man!"
"Yes I do. Now that I come to think of it, it will be nice having a man around again."
"Anne!"
"And I really do feel sorry for him. No man should have to eat such stuff as he cooks! And his clothes do need mending."
"Why, Anne. If I didn't know better I would think you were actually looking forward to this marriage! Don't you care that he has forced you into this?"
"I don't care...it will make a great story to tell when we are old."
"Well...I still plan on telling the sheriff about this!" Melissa said stubbornly.
"No you won't."
"How can you stop me?"
"Because I have something to tell too." I replied. Looking at her hair.
I have a feeling, if Melissa doesn't want people to know about her wig...she'll stay silent.
THE END
-I am going to re-write another story called 'The Girl and the Wild race'.
-Its about a girl who, fed up with her aunt nagging her to get married, pledges to marry the first man who asks. It ends up being a race to her doorstep. Look for it!
-To Lilyiia: Thanks so much for your review!
-Chapter Eight:
"Issac! Issac Appleby! You get out here this minute before the rain comes and soaks my ten-dollar hat!" I was standing up on the roof now; heedless of my safety. Waving my arms and shouting a loud as I could I tried to ignore Melissa's laugh of triumph.
But I didn't care. I was not going to spend any longer on this shed roof, guarded by a dog, and beset all day by heat and sun. I could stand that...but it was the on-coming thunderstorm that did me in.
"Issac!" I shouted again. The easily-excitable Julius Caesar started howling with me, clawing the side of the shed wall in eagerness. But even that brute of a dog didn't scare me anymore. I was willing to do anything to save my ten-dollar hat...even marry an old bachelor.
Now that I look back on this I don't think I was really in my right mind. The heat had probably made me slightly crazy for the day. Otherwise why would I have done such an undignified thing?
Finally I saw Isaac racing down the path from his house to the shed. He was wrestling on a coat and I saw it was full of holes...there were crude patches on the sleeves too, places where he had probably tried to do his own mending. And men think they can live without us!
"Ladies, he shouted to us through the whistling of the wind. "There's a storm coming up pretty soon."
"Really? We hadn't noticed except for the fact that both of us are half-soaked!" replied Melissa bitterly. "Surely you won't let us die out here on your shed. You'll have to let us down now."
Issac was silent. Melissa had a good point but the Applebys were always stubborn.
And I wasn't about to take chances.
'Issac," I called down. "If you put the ladder back up and promise to dispose of that dog before I come...I will agree to marry you."
"Anne..." was all he could say, and as I met his brown eyes I could see a sense of relief. Was it because I had saved him from Melissa? Or because now he would no longer have to eat his own dreadful cooking?
As he slowly picked up the ladder and leaned it against the shed I tried to calm myself. I tried to be as dignified as my previous outburst would let me.
What with the wind and my wide berth the ladder shook a little as I started to climb down. So Issac considerately held it for me...turning his head even though my wet skirt was too heavy for the wind to lift up. But the Appblebys have always been gentlemen. Before I stepped off the last rung I looked timidly at the dog which was standing near Issac; it's mouth open and panting heavily.
But Issac whistled and the dog ran off towards the house and I was able to step off the ladder without fear of being attacked by a dog.
I noticed smugly that Issac did not hold the ladder for Melissa and that my cousin was awful white after climbing down the ladder which had been shaking pretty bad in a gust of wind. I felt no sympathy for her...especially since I was the one sacrificing.
Right after that it started to rain harder and we ran into Issac's house where we dried off in front of a fire.
"I'll let you know that while I plan to marry you," I said to him matter-of-factly. "I will make you sorry for it."
"I'll take that risk, Anne," he replied. "And of course, I'll sell the dog. I won't need him now that I've got you." He meant to be complimentary but you wouldn't have thought do by the look on the dog's face.
"And I've only agreed to marry you for a couple reasons," I continued. "One: because I am sorry for you. Sorry that you have to live on your cooking which, by the way, is terrible."
"It wasn't that bad," he muttered.
"And two because I don't like seeing a man ruin his clothes by trying to mend them himself."
"I agree," he said.
"And one more thing," I said. Not forgetting our original reason for coming here. "We were wondering if you would donate some money to the church on behalf of cushioning the pews."
Issac looked at me and looked at the clipboard.
"How much do you need?" he wanted to know.
"We're trying to raise a hundred and fifty dollars."
"And how much do you have so far?"
"Eighty."
Issac thought a moment and then said agreeably.
"Put me down for the rest. I'll donate seventy dollars."
At least my husband isn't afraid to open his wallet.
We stayed there for a couple more hours until the rain cleared up. Then we headed off home. Issac offered to drive us...but I wanted to talk to Melissa.
"I knew you would be the one to break down and agree," she said triumphantly.
"Issac is a good man." I said. "He's a gentleman and is not afraid to use his money."
"You didn't say so before on the shed," she implied nastily.
I didn't reply.
"I plan to tell the sheriff everything when we get home. About how Issac Appleby is forcing you to marry him and how he kept us up on that shed all day."
I still didn't speak.
"I'm sure the sheriff will see that you don't have to really marry him. I'm sure there's a way you can escape that fate."
"What if I don't want to?" I suddenly asked.
Melissa stopped dead in her tracks out of shock. "Surely you can't mean you really are planning on marrying that man!"
"Yes I do. Now that I come to think of it, it will be nice having a man around again."
"Anne!"
"And I really do feel sorry for him. No man should have to eat such stuff as he cooks! And his clothes do need mending."
"Why, Anne. If I didn't know better I would think you were actually looking forward to this marriage! Don't you care that he has forced you into this?"
"I don't care...it will make a great story to tell when we are old."
"Well...I still plan on telling the sheriff about this!" Melissa said stubbornly.
"No you won't."
"How can you stop me?"
"Because I have something to tell too." I replied. Looking at her hair.
I have a feeling, if Melissa doesn't want people to know about her wig...she'll stay silent.
THE END
-I am going to re-write another story called 'The Girl and the Wild race'.
-Its about a girl who, fed up with her aunt nagging her to get married, pledges to marry the first man who asks. It ends up being a race to her doorstep. Look for it!