Adam, My Son

Chapter 12

Sally Ann wore Prudence's wedding dress. "It's got good luck in it," the younger sister declared as she arranged the rose scrimshaw pin that had once belonged to Elizabeth Stoddard Cartwright on its collar.

"I think so," was the reply. "Eric and I are happy and content, Inger is healthy, and she is our joy, and the Clydesdale herd is slowly growing. I don't think we could ask for anything more. And you and Adam…well, I don't know if 'tame' is the right word for how he's become, but he's not the man he was when I first met him."

Sally Ann laughed. "Well, I'm not either, I suppose. Funny, isn't it? I never thought there would be a man who would accept me being as intellectual as he was. And yet, here I find one hidden away in this small town, he nearly gets crushed to death and now…" She shook away the fearful memories of the past year. "And now, here we are."

"And now here you are, starting a life together. You're more than the sum of your individual parts. I hope the two of you are always as blessed as you are today," said Prudence.

"Isn't it Papa or Mama who should be saying that?" asked Sally Ann.

"Oh, I'm sure one or the other will, but they don't know all that I know about the two of you." If the elder sister really knew about how much intimate time the bride and groom had long been spending together, she didn't say. But she did wink conspiratorially. "You have nothing to worry about from me. As far as I can tell, they remain in blissful ignorance and will stay that way."

The wedding, anti-climactic as it might be for Adam and Sally Ann, was a joyful occasion, nevertheless. He lifted her veil and kissed her chastely, although there was plenty of laughter in both their eyes. After they greeted their guests, when the band began to play, he leaned over her and whispered, "I have a surprise for you," and took her hand. Adam led his bride to the center of the floor. "I've been practicing. If you remember, I was a very good dancer before the accident." The past nine months had been filled with sometimes agonizing rebuilding of strength and function in his left leg, but it seemed that the more painful and difficult a thing was, the more he was bound and determined to conquer it. Even though he and Sport had learned to mount and be mounted from the right side, Adam wasn't content with that and in recent months had resumed using a standard left-side mount. At the same time, he had spent hours practicing dancing. His first partner had been a broom, and then he had convinced Joseph to participate. This had certain advantages, obviously. Joe was shorter than his brother, had a shoulder and a waist to hold on to and gave responses to his brother's movements. Unfortunately, he had difficulty remembering not to lead and not to step on Adam's foot. He also was determined not to let his brother fall, which caused both of them to nearly wrench their backs one time. Nevertheless, their joint efforts paid off as the crowd cleared the area for the new couple's dance.

Sally Ann's eyes shined with unshed tears. "Oh Adam! This is amazing! The most wonderful gift…"

"No, my lioness. That will come later."

Ben and John Whitman saluted one another, watching all the happy revelers. Sally Ann and Adam were the center of attention, and they were gracious with their well-wishers, but their hands never separated from one another. Prudence and Hoss were making the most of their time together on the dance floor, while Gertie scampered after the newly walking Andy with little Inger in her arms. Ted seemed to be oscillating between Winnie Stapleton, a little blonde girl and Nancy Bartlett, a brunette. Margaret Whitman joined the men after a while.

"I didn't think there could be a happier wedding than Pru's and Hoss's," she said, "but this one is…I don't know…so special!"

"Yes, my dear. I think you are right," John replied.

"Well, then, the two of you shouldn't be standing here ignoring the guests," his wife said.

"You are quite correct, Margaret," said Ben.

"But there was something I wanted to talk to Ben about!"

Margaret winked. "There will plenty of time to talk tomorrow."

The two men looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders, as if to say that they had no choice but to obey.

Andy loved having all the people around and all the music and the cake and all the decorations and just everything. It was almost more than the toddler could absorb but he felt the happiness permeate his entire being and he did his best to make his little cousin Inger understand as well. She was always happy, but then, her Ma and her Baba liked each other, and they lived in the same house. His Ma and Baba didn't like each other, that he knew, and the man that his Ma wanted to be his new Baba wasn't really his Baba and he didn't like him. He hated him for coming and trying to fool him into thinking he could take his real Baba's place. He missed his Ma sometimes, but it was kind of easy to forget about her, too. There were all these nice people here and he loved them already. And here, Baba was happy too. Not just the make-believe happy he had been, but honest-to-goodness really happy. There was G'Ba, and K'l Ssss and Ani P'oo, and K'l Am and Ani Sayl-Ee Ann. All this fun was especially for them, he'd been told. And Ani G'r Tee. She took care of him and Inger a lot. Baba seemed to like her, too. He always smiled when he saw her. And there was his friend Hop-Hop, as well, who always had the best cookies for him. He was glad that he never had go to back where he'd been before. Baba had promised him. And when he was a little bigger, Baba said he would get him his own horsie and soon after that Inger would be bigger too, and K'l Sssss would get her a horsie and they would ride around together!

Andy had been trying to express all this to Baba and Ani G'r Tee, who had sat down together with Inger on one of the benches. He had been talking a mile a minute, making him less understandable than usual, so the adults just laughed and smiled and nodded occasionally at him.

"Wow, that's some story, Andy!" said Baba. "How about some food?"

"Cake!?"

"First you should have some of the meat." Ani G'r Tee had made a mash of the barbequed beef and potatoes for Inger and offered him some, but that was baby food. He was a big boy!

"San'ich!" he said, pointing to the sandwich Baba was eating.

"Okay. Here, have this," said Joe as he tore some of his apart.

Hoss and Prudence approached a few moments later. "Hey, you two? Need a break from the little ones?" Hoss asked.

"Cake?" asked Andy again, hoping that a new pair of adults might be a little more lenient.

"You finish eating your sandwich and then you can have some cake. Don't try fooling Uncle Hoss or Auntie Pru," Joe admonished him. Turning to Gertie, he asked, "Want to stretch your legs? You've had little Inger on your hip all day."

"Don't mind if I do, actually," and she handed the little girl over to her mother. She thought she would just walk around the crowd with Joe, and she was surprised when he led her into the dance in the middle of the yard.

"You've been taking care of those two the whole week and I have a feeling you're more than ready for a conversation with a fellow adult," he said offering his arms for the dance.

"Oh, I love them both to pieces, but yes, I can't deny that I'm ready to talk about things besides horsies, cookies and dollies. In fact, I would appreciate a conversation that doesn't have a single diminutive in it for a while."

Joe giggled. "Yep, I know. I suppose in that case I should call you 'Gertrude'?"

"Well," Gertie replied, "there are a lot worse things you could call me."

"Nah. You've been a godsend. So much has changed for Andy and for me these last few weeks. With moving him from California and the preparations for the wedding, you've been a calm, constant presence in both our lives. Thank you for that. We'll hate to see you go back to Ohio at the end of the summer."

"I don't know if I want to go back. I don't know if I want to go back to school. It's gotten too boring. College, maybe…but even then, I don't know what I want to study. It's like suddenly nothing seems to make sense anymore," she said. "I know I sound just exactly like an adolescent should sound, too many choices, too many roads I could take, and I can't decide which way to turn. Oh, Joe! I'm sorry, here I am babbling and it's none of your concern."

"No, no. I'm your friend, right? Take it from me, just because they call you an 'adult', doesn't mean that it gets easier to make those decisions. You just get better at hiding your anxiety. Sometimes you just have to stop. Don't think for a while. Feel instead. Your heart is telling you that you need a different path. Look at Ted; he knew that he couldn't become a teacher. Last summer with Adam showed him he'd found the right path. I'm still finding my new path. I wouldn't be surprised if your summer with us shows you your path."

The dance ended and Joe took Gertie's arm and directed her away from the crowd.

"And what if my path is to just be a wife and a mother?"

"If that's what you truly want and you find the right man, you'll be happy. And that's the best thing I could wish for you, Gertrude; happiness." He looked at her intently, smiling slowly. He suddenly realized that she was as pretty as either of her sisters and so sincere and honest. He was falling into her eyes and leaned down and kissed her cheek gently. Suddenly, he stepped back and turned away while Gertie stared at his retreating back, wondering why she felt like a hole had been torn open in her chest.

Sally Ann wouldn't let Adam carry her over the threshold when they arrived at their house. "That's just silly! I'm strong enough now to carry you the few steps!" Adam protested. "I certainly know enough not to try the stairs with you in my arms."

"It's not only that," she said, arms around his neck. "Don't you think it's just plain pointless? We've been husband and wife for so many months already."

"Maybe I'm just getting sentimental in my old age? Alright, I won't carry you over the doorstep, but once we get upstairs…" Adam trailed a finger over the bodice of the wedding dress.

"Careful! It's to be handed down to Gertie!" Sally Ann cried out.

Adam took a step back and removed his finger from the delicate lace. "Despite how Joseph was beginning to look at her, I think there would be time enough to mend the dress. Besides, if I thought I was marrying a very young bride, he'd be legally robbing the cradle for at least a year. Now, come upstairs with me!" he commanded.

Once in their bedroom, Sally Ann was expecting their usual playing to commence. Instead of instructing her to remove various articles of clothing, Adam gently began to lay aside the wedding veil and slowly, carefully undid the buttons of the dress. "You are so beautiful," he breathed. "And I love you so much, wife of my heart."

Before he could lean in to kiss her, Sally Ann placed a hand on his cheek. "And I have no words for the love I feel for you, husband of my heart."

The next morning, Ben was sitting in the kitchen of Hoss and Pru's house, a coffee cup in his hand and John Whitman sitting across the table from him.

"Margaret and I have talked about it over and over again. It would be a very big change for us, but the children are essentially all grown, and it would be a good challenge for me personally. We would miss William and his family, but who knows? With the rest of the family settling here, they might decide to join us eventually as well. The West has many more opportunities and a very great need for qualified teachers."

"Are you telling me that you and Margaret have decided to move here? That would be marvelous, and your girls would be thrilled!" Ben responded.

"Yes, they will be, but it's more than that. You see, I've liked training new teachers, but it's one step removed from actual schoolroom teaching, and I've started feeling like I'm missing something. Virginia City needs a schoolteacher, one who won't leave every year or every other year. It's a perfect solution to everyone's problems!"

"It is! It is indeed! I have no doubt that the School Board will welcome you with open arms, John. And all of us will be glad to have you close by."

Margaret entered the room holding little Inger. "So, should we start looking for a house in town?"

"You've been eavesdropping, my dear!" John jokingly chided her.

"That, I believe, is a wife's prerogative."

The End