A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.
Proverbs 17:22
The next morning, Grace was helping her mother with the breakfast when Marlene and Matthew came downstairs. Grace’s father had already left for work early, as he normally did. Matthew worked for a building company and often didn't leave until eight in the morning.
“Did you hear the good news, Matthew?” his mother asked him.
“What good news is that?”
“Grace and Adam are spending the day together.”
Grace pulled a face at her mother’s remark.
“I suppose that's good news if that makes Grace happy. He’s a gut man.”
Marlene remained silent and squeezed past Grace and her mother to pour herself and her husband a cup of coffee. Then she sat down next to Matthew at the table.
“Would you like me to make you and Matthew some breakfast, Marlene?” Grace asked.
“I think I can look after my own husband well enough without your help, Grace.”
Grace remained silent as she sat down at the table and began sipping on a cup of hot peppermint tea.
Matthew said, “If you two are going to be living under the same roof, you should try to get along with each other. I've talked to each of you and you’ve both said that you’d try, but neither of you seem to be putting any effort in.”
Marlene jutted out her bottom jaw. “What did I say? She was making out I don't look after you well enough, and I do.”
Grace remained silent, knowing that anything she said would be taken the wrong way. Not knowing where to look, she stared into her tea. Even though Grace’s mother was in the kitchen as well, she didn’t comment and busied herself at the kitchen sink.
Matthew shook his head. “Nee, Marlene, you’re wrong. I can’t agree with you because you’re speaking nonsense. Grace was simply being nice by offering to cook breakfast for us, and you’re twisting what she said to have a negative meaning.”
“Why are you on her side?”
Matthew’s mouth fell open at the way Marlene had raised her voice at him. “There are no sides to this. I’m on neither side; I’m simply stating what is reasonable to expect, and that is that the two of you should be getting along.”
Marlene jumped to her feet. “Well, it seems I can't do anything to make you happy. Everything I try just isn't good enough for you, is it?”
“Sit down, Marlene! You’re making a scene,” he said.
“Making a scene? How's this for making a scene?” Marlene picked up her cup of coffee and threw it against the wall. Coffee went everywhere, and the broken pieces of crockery fell to the ground. Marlene wasn't finished there. She also picked up Matthew’s half-drunk cup of coffee and threw it against the same wall. Then she ran out of the house.
Grace was not going to look into her brother's face. Her mother hurried to pick up the broken pieces of china while her brother sat staring after his wife.
“I didn’t realize that would upset her so badly,” he said.
“New marriages take a while. You both have to adjust to each other's ways.”
“We’ve been married nearly four years, Mamm. It’s hardly a new marriage.”
“I think she was upset when you spoke against her in front of everyone,” Grace said. “Every wife just wants the support of her husband.”
“That makes no sense. She was wrong, and I’m not going to pretend otherwise,” Matthew said.
“From her point of view, being right or wrong has nothing to do with it. Aren’t you going to go after her?” Grace asked.
He shook his head. “Not this time. I’ve grown tired of constantly trying to make her happy. It seems whatever I do or say is never good enough.”
Grace wondered how often this type of thing happened. Grace knew if she had been upset like Marlene had been just now, she would’ve wanted her husband to run after her and make sure she was okay.”
Grace stood up and looked out the kitchen window to see where Marlene was. She was far away in the fields and running; just a speck in the distance heading toward Adam's house. She turned back to Matthew. “I really think you should go after her.”
“You don't know what's gone on between us, Grace. I’ve tried hard, but it’s exhausting sometimes.”
“It doesn't matter. She’d want you to comfort her. She just needs love and understanding.”
He leaned over and whispered to Grace in a voice that their mother would not be able to hear, “And that's exactly why I’m not going to follow her this time.”
Grace felt sorry for Marlene. She knew what it was like to want kindness from your husband, and get nothing but coldness. “Do you mind if I talk to her?”
“You can do that if you think it will help. Jump on one of the horses,” Matthew said. “Take Charlie. He’s the only one that doesn’t mind being ridden.”
Grace put her coat on and took the shawl that Marlene had left behind. She grabbed a bridle from the barn and placed it on Charlie, walked him near the fence and climbed on his bare back. She’d been a good rider years ago, but she never remembered her dress riding up as it was now.
She kept as far away from the roads as she could and cantered the horse bareback. When she drew close to Adam's house, she slid off Charlie. She didn’t want Adam to see her with her dress up around the tops of her legs.
She wanted to be on her best behavior around Adam because of his high standards. As she led Charlie behind her, she caught sight of Marlene, who was climbing into a buggy parked outside Adam’s front door. Grace stood and watched Marlene climb into the buggy then whip the ends of the reins against the horse’s rump. The horse set off at an incredible speed.