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Vivian DuCate turned the china plate over, carefully rubbing her index finger across the red manufacturer’s stamp. The symbol of a wreath bordered a capital M with the words “Noritake” above and “Made in Japan” below. She tipped the plate over again checking her reflection in the glossy finish. On the front side of the ivory dish, a gold band surrounded the edge with a bordered pastel design in a floral print. A perfect image of her face cast back. Only special occasions brought out the twelve-piece china setting. Decoration Day marked a traditional celebration for her family as well as all the guests they invited to commemorate it. Ever since she found a niche in designing an elegant table, the task became hers.
She stacked the plate along with the others on the walnut sideboard. Sliding open the serving drawer, she pulled out the ivory lace linen tablecloth. The flower design within each six-by-six-inch square was hand-stitched together to complete the elongated tablecloth, a favored family heirloom, and the foundation for all the additional items set on it. She draped the cloth on top, running her hand across the material, smoothing the wrinkles as she sauntered around the table. The delicate lace caught her ring at the edge of the last corner. She stopped to unhook the string. A half-inch run appeared. She touched her fingertips on either side to pull the material taut. The appearance didn’t change. Her mother wouldn’t be pleased, but Vivian would be the one who needed to accept the imperfection. As soon as she married Benjamin, the heirloom would be hers.
Twisting the engagement ring back and forth on her finger, she tried to catch the light just right to make it sparkle. The day Benjamin asked to marry her she hadn’t hesitated. Even though the ring hadn’t been the precise one she wanted. Instead of his grandmother’s ring, he’d bought an art deco design in 18k white gold with a round center diamond in a square setting. Along the sides, a beaded row ran through the middle surrounded by intricate scrollwork. The man meant more to her than the ring she hadn’t received. He came from a quality family of good beliefs and held a position that could support her in the manner she’d grown accustomed to. She regarded herself as one of the fortunate women to discover a man of his caliber.
At each place setting, she carried over the required pieces of china, silverware, and stemware, situating them an equal distance apart. Atop each plate, an ivory linen napkin in the shape of a boat finished the commemorative look she desired. All that remained were the final touches to dress up the table: some candlesticks of varying sizes, hand-drawn name cards, along with a few well-positioned fresh-cut flowers. She moseyed through the kitchen and into the back entryway, grabbing the garden shears on her way out the door.
The stone path alongside the house led her under the wooden archway of overgrown violet and pink morning glories with hydrangea bushes lining the edges. People who went by probably didn’t realize such a lovely garden existed beyond the dense shrubs. She wandered through the winding pathway toward the center of the garden where all the paths met at a tall stone obelisk. The perfect flowers would symbolize the day, along with emitting a wonderful fragrance. There were so many to choose from.
Within twenty minutes, she gathered enough cut flowers to fill a large centerpiece vase. The bouquet consisted of red garden roses, white astilbes, and blue clematis. She gathered them into a pile, placing them in the crook of her arm. As she exited through the archway onto the stone path, Benjamin ran up alongside the house opposite to her course.
“Vivian!”
She continued on her way. The thorns were poking into her skin. She released her hold as much as she could without dropping them.
“Vivian, wait!”
She stopped and laid the flowers onto the ground. “I heard you the first time. I can only imagine what the neighbors are thinking. What is so urgent?” He’d better be here to apologize for not taking her out to dinner.
“I wanted to catch you before you went into the house.” He took a few short breaths. “What are you doing with all those flowers?”
This didn’t sound like the apology she was looking for. “They’re for the dinner party tonight. You’re still planning on coming?” If he didn’t, she would be the only one without an escort. “Or did you forget?”
“No, it’s the reason I came by. What time should I be here?”
“Five. I’m quite certain I mentioned that last week.”
“If you did, it slipped my mind.” He bent down, gathering the bouquet. “I can help you with these if you’d like.”
“That’s sweet of you.” She placed her hand on the back of his arm as they strolled down the path. “Father told me yesterday he figured a way for Fredrick to cater our wedding dinner.”
“When will he find out for sure?”
“With any luck, soon. Once we have available dates, we can move forward rather quickly.” She put her other hand on the front of his arm and squeezed. “I’m becoming rather excited the closer we get.”
“It’s not too overwhelming for you, is it?”
“You should know me by now. I enjoy planning.”
“I just thought you might be under too much stress. A smaller wedding might be better.” He stopped walking. “The one you couldn’t attend was pleasant.”
When will he learn to keep those comments to himself? “Our list is still growing.” She wanted everyone possible to attend her day. “A small one won’t work for what I’ve envisioned.”
“Then I’ll leave it up to you.”
As they approached the back-porch steps, she caught sight of his car out on the street. Something about it didn’t seem quite right. “How come your silver piece is missing from the middle of the tire?”
“Is it?” He turned toward the car. “It must have fallen off when I hit a puddle in the downpour and ended up giving a lady a ride home.”
“A lady?” She had better be unattractive and old. “What lady?”
“The unfortunate one I soaked when I wasn’t paying attention.” He stared at the ground and shuffled his feet. “I couldn’t leave her out there, especially since it was my fault.”
“Who is she?”
“Lily Vanderhoof. Have you heard of her?”
“No. Where does she live?”
“By Columbia Park.”
One side of her lip curled. “Now I understand why I don’t know who she is. She’s one of those families who live north of the tracks.”
“She’s a fine person.” He rubbed his jaw. “After what I did, she was still pleasant to me. I’m sure I ruined some of her clothing.”
“I will socialize with my own kind. I suggest you do the same.” She took the blossoms from him. “Ouch! I need to go in and finish the table. Don’t be late.”
At half-past five, the housemaid led Benjamin into the front room where everyone gathered. She should have told him four-thirty. At least then he would have arrived well before the other guests. He sauntered through the crowd shaking hands and stopping to chat. He’d given her time to take a few deep breaths. Perhaps that was his intention. She sensed he knew she couldn’t stay angry with him for too long. Particularly not when he appeared in his luxurious gray herringbone suit with a crisp white handkerchief tucked into the breast pocket.
She grinned at him as he approached. “Glad to see you made it on time.”
“Sorry, just a little late.” He showed her a small space between his thumb and index finger. “Your dress is delightful. It’s festive for the occasion.” He surveyed the room. “It seems your parents invited a good crowd to dinner this evening. There are a couple of new faces I’ve never seen before.”
A compliment about her dress and an apology helped to dismiss his lateness. “The man in the brown suit is Mr. Johannes, a neighbor from around the corner. I don’t think you’ve met him.”
“No, I haven’t.”
“The couple near my father is the Hansens.” She took his arm as he turned toward them. “Harvey is the new bank manager who came to town last month. On his right is his wife, Nettie.” She leaned toward him. “Father said it’s best to be friendly with the bankers since you never know when you might need them.”
“That’s true.”
“In any case, there’s a scandal about the Hansens.”
“You know I don’t approve of engaging in gossip.”
Vivian fluttered her eyelashes.
“All right, what is it?”
“First let me say if people didn’t want others to talk about them then they shouldn’t behave inappropriately.”
“It may not be true.”
“It is. I’m convinced of it.”
He shook his head. “All right. What did you hear?”
“Nettie worked for Harvey as his secretary before coming to town.” Vivian lowered her voice to an audible whisper. “A little more than an employee from what I heard. Harvey had a fiancée at the time too.” She placed her hand on the side of her mouth, leaning closer to his ear. “The fiancée found out about Nettie. Apparently, the fiancée didn’t want to give up too easily and told Harvey she was carrying his baby. Definitely a bad idea on her part. I don’t know what she was thinking letting everyone know she’d given in to temptation. Well, for the fiancée it worked since Harvey fired Nettie and hired a new secretary.”
“I presume the fiancée wasn’t pregnant.”
“That’s right. After three months, Harvey found out about the fiancée’s deception and ended it for good this time. Not long after, he went back to Nettie. When the position became available here, they thought it best to move to a different town.”
Benjamin didn’t say anything.
“It’s quite the disreputable story,” Vivian smirked. “The way I see it, they all got what they deserved. The fiancée ended up marrying a poor man and the Hansens were sent out of town. What goes around comes around.”
“Well, I imagine it’s better Mr. Hansen figured out how he felt before he ended up marrying the wrong person.”
“You’re defending his actions.” She folded her arms, scowling at him.
“I’m not, but marrying someone you’re not truly in love with isn’t a good plan either. As a matter of fact, this story only proves my point.”
She could feel her face heating up. “It’s obvious to me he didn’t take his commitment to the proposal very seriously.” Her temple throbbed.
“Vivian.” He took her hands. “Look at me.”
“How can you condone what he’s done?” She tensed her hands against his.
“I was only trying to give you another perspective.”
“I know what he did to her.” She stomped her foot. “Infidelity is deplorable.”
Let’s not argue.” Benjamin pulled her closer. “I understand what you’re saying, but people are staring.” He stroked her hair. “We can discuss this another time.”
Vivian’s lip quivered. “Fine.” He can be reprimand later.