Chapter Twenty-Two

Dana and Christopher were sitting at the table when Charlotte entered the house with her arms full of groceries.

“Do you need help?” Dana rose from the table and hurried over. Then she motioned to Christopher. “Come on. Let’s help your grandma.”

Christopher jumped from his chair and approached Charlotte with Toby trailing by his side. “Is there more in the car?”

Charlotte placed the bags on the counter. “Actually, there is. Thank you, Christopher. Thank you, Dana.”

Dana shrugged. “No problem.” She started emptying the items from the bag on the counter. “He’s young and strong, and it’s never too early to start training a gentleman.”

“Training up gentlemen, yes. I did my best, but I think we could’ve done better in that area.”

Dana opened the fridge and put away the fresh produce Charlotte had just bought. “I don’t know. Pete tries to act tough and manly around here, but he does pretty well. He opens doors for me, and last week when he picked me up at school he engaged in polite conversation with some of the other teachers, even though I could see from his gaze that he was completely bored.”

Charlotte chuckled. “Better than I’d expect.”

Minutes later the groceries were put away and Charlotte was enjoying a cup of coffee from the pot Dana had made. “So, I’ve been waiting to hear. Did Mr. Barnes find anything?” she asked.

“Yes!” Christopher held up a file.

“Unfortunately,” Dana opened it up, “we looked through it, and there isn’t anything different from what we already knew.” She spread out some of the headlines on the table.

BEDFORD MAN ACCUSED OF ROBBING FROM CHURCH
BEDFORD ROBBERY SUSPECT PLEADS NOT GUILTY
CHURCH MEMBERS OUTRAGED OVER “LOST” MONEY
THOU SHALT NOT STEAL?

Charlotte felt a lump growing in her throat. “Oh my, these …. these are from newspapers all around Nebraska.”

Christopher nodded. “Mr. Barnes said it was quite a story. He also said I still have a couple of weeks to work on my story. He wouldn’t run it anyway until it was closer to the open house thing at church. He said he thought it might be a good advertisement for it—it will give people something to talk about.”

“Oh, dear. This isn’t how it was supposed to be at all. The church wants to have a celebration of the beginnings of the church. They want to display the highlights of our congregation over the years.” Charlotte rose and moved toward the phone. “Maybe I should call Mr. Barnes and explain. Maybe I need to call Pastor Evans too and apologize. If anything happens to darken the mood of this celebration I won’t forgive myself.”

“Charlotte, wait.” Dana rose from her chair and hurried to her side. “You don’t need to do anything yet. Christopher is still working on the article. If Mr. Barnes does run it, it won’t be for a couple of weeks. Why don’t we just wait and see how everything plays out? Like I tell my kids at school, no need to make a drama of things.”

Charlotte nodded. “I guess you’re right. I’m pretty sure we’re not going to find any more information about my Granddaddy, but it gave us an interesting week.”

“Don’t give up yet, Grandma. Maybe we’ll figure it out,” Christopher said. “Dylan and I have plans to go to the library after school tomorrow. Mr. Barnes said a lady there has some old photographs and stuff.”

“Oh, yes, Emily told me about that too. Maybe I’ll meet you there. If anything, perhaps I can borrow some photos for the open house.”

“That’s the spirit!” Dana turned back to the table. “Oh, Christopher, don’t forget to tell your grandma what else Mr. Barnes shared with you.”

“There’s more?” Charlotte joined them at the table.

“Well,” Christopher explained, “while Mr. Barnes was researching he came across some other stuff. He doesn’t know if it’s connected to our mystery, but maybe.” Christopher handed Charlotte a photocopy of another old newspaper article with the headline

STAGE ROBBED THREE TIMES IN TEN DAYS
PASSENGERS ON STAGE WHEN ROBBED
ROBBER LEAVES HAT BEHIND

“Hmm. That’s a scintillating headline but Elijah made no mention of being robbed. It would have made everything a whole lot easier if he had been.”

“That’s true, but he could have been robbed without knowing it,” Dana pointed out. “He was carrying the bag around; maybe someone who happened to be in town saw it and took it. Just because Elijah was friends with most people doesn’t mean they were all trustworthy characters. If Bedford was anything like Omaha … well, he’s lucky if he wasn’t robbed!”

“Very true. I was just hoping for something more concrete from the news stories. I suppose if something was printed in 1879 that could have proved his innocence they would have figured it out then.” Charlotte sighed.

“Don’t worry, Grandma. We’ll get to the bottom of the history mystery sooner or later,” Christopher assured her before heading upstairs to do some homework.

Dana moved to the window and Charlotte saw a look of concern cross her face. “Is something bothering you, dear?” she asked.

Dana sighed. “I’m worried about the wedding. I hope the weather is going to be okay. It would be nice to be able to take some outside photos too.”

“Oh, I love outside photos. Those always look so nice.”

“Well, I don’t know if it’s going to happen. We don’t even have a photographer yet. I brought these photographers’ portfolios over for Pete to look at later. I’ve looked through them fifty times each, and I need Pete’s opinion.”

“Pete’s opinion?”

Dana nodded. “I’ve narrowed it down to two, and I told Pete he could have the final choice.”

“You’re letting Pete have the final choice?” Charlotte reached for the first portfolio. Inside were photos of couples inside churches. She flipped through the pages. “Are you sure you want Pete picking out your photographer?” Charlotte chuckled.

“Yes, I’ve made so many decisions that I thought I should let him make a few. I don’t want Pete to think the wedding is all about me.”

Charlotte glanced up. “Actually, it is all about you!”

Dana looked at Charlotte. Her jaw dropped and then her eyes narrowed. “What? It’s our wedding. It’s not only about me.”

Charlotte rose and hurried to Dana’s side. “Oh, I didn’t mean to make it sound bad. It’s just that … think about it. If you left everything completely up to Pete, what do you think the wedding would be like?”

Dana pursed her lips. “We’d probably have it in the barn. He’d wear his jeans and his John Deere cap. Trudy the cow would be my maid of honor.” Dana giggled. “And instead of throwing rice the guests could toss hay in the sky.”

“Exactly.”

“So are you saying that I’m not thinking about Pete—his likes—by planning the wedding with all the frou-frou stuff?”

“Not at all. I think Pete is happy about all of it, or at least nearly all of it.”

“Yeah, he’s complained quite a bit about having to wear a tux.”

“But he’s going to wear it. And he’s going to enjoy the decorations and the frou-frou cake and all the flowers, not because it’s his type of thing, but because he loves you and knows it will make you happy.”

Tears filled Dana’s eyes. “You know, I’ve never thought about that before. I—well, I was getting frustrated because he wasn’t helping. Or he just kept telling me, ‘Whatever you decide.’ I thought he just wasn’t interested.” One tear broke through and slipped down Dana’s cheek. “I almost thought he was having second thoughts about marrying me.”

“Oh, honey.” Charlotte pulled Dana into an embrace. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know you were feeling this way. Darling, you know Pete. He thinks pretty is a half-pound hamburger! And honestly, I truly think he’d rather have you make all the decisions. He wants you to be happy. He wants this to be a very special day—everything you dreamed of.”

Dana pulled back, nodded, and then slid back into the chair. She took a deep breath.

Charlotte sat next to her and mindlessly stirred her coffee. “Just think of it this way, all little girls like to imagine their wedding day. They dream about it from the time they’re little. I know I did. I remember being ten, lying in bed, and imagining my wedding day. And what do you think ten-year-old boys are lying there thinking about?”

“Hmm. Fishing, hunting, dirt bikes, skateboards. Or in Christopher’s case, storms, tornadoes, his dog, and becoming the next star reporter.” Dana pulled the second portfolio toward her. “Okay, then you can help me decide, and we can just show Pete when he gets here. Come to think of it, he’ll probably be relieved.”

“I think you’re right.”

Charlotte watched as they flipped through pages. “Looking at these, a sunny, spring day would be perfect for the wedding.” She smiled. “Another thing to add to my growing prayer list.”

IT HADN’T TAKEN MUCH to talk Dana into staying for dinner. Now, as the sun sank on the distant horizon, their bellies were full of spaghetti, and Dana didn’t seem to be in a hurry to head out. It was nice, relaxing. Charlotte let out a contented sigh as she finished drying the last of the dinner dishes. After their talk about wedding plans, she had to admit she was starting to grow excited about the big day.

Pete chatted with Bob in the living room, and Dana sat at the dining room table, glancing over Emily’s posters.

“Emily, I’m so impressed.” Dana put on her teacher smile. “This project is great. Can you tell me about it?”

Emily shrugged. “Two of my friends and I are doing a project on the early settlers and the railroad. Most of them around Bedford bought land from the railroad, and …” She shrugged. “We’re just going to talk about how the towns sprouted up along the railroad line and how the people lived and stuff.”

“I’ve read a little about that before. I think I remember the land being really cheap,” Dana said.

“Three dollars an acre,” Charlotte said. “I think that’s what I read in my great-grandmother’s journal.”

“You have your great-grandmother’s journal?” Dana asked.

“Haven’t I shown you Lavina’s diary?”

“No. I can’t say you have. How wonderful! Where did you get it?”

For the next hour Dana, Charlotte, and Emily went through the diary pages once again. They teared up at some of Lavina’s entries; others made them laugh.

“Wow, did you read this one about her family?” Dana asked.

“I might have but go ahead and read it again,” Charlotte answered.

July 20, 1881

Today is my baby sister Amelia’s birthday. I wrote her a letter last week, but I haven’t been to town to post it yet. I wish I had a picture of Henry to include with it. I think that out of all my family Henry looks the most like Amelia. Maybe it’s his eyes—as blue as the sky on a bright Nebraska day and sparkling slightly so that they always appear to be laughing.

I haven’t seen Amelia in five years, since the day after my wedding when I joined Elijah on the train heading west. Of course “west” then was St. Louis. At the time I didn’t believe we were going any farther than that. I couldn’t have guessed then that I’d have a child my parents and sisters would never see.

Oh my, I do have a disagreeable disposition today, don’t I?

Before—well, just before, Elijah and I had been planning a trip back home to see our families. He’d saved up a little bit from each paycheck. We had planned on being there for Independence Day, but it never happened.

For a while, even after all the problems started, I thought we still had enough money to go. In the back of my mind I’d always thought that if things didn’t work out here we could always just move back to Maryland and stay there for good. My hope was that we would make a fresh start and no one would know us—or the accusations that had been strapped to our backs.

I only found out later—at least six months later—that the go-back-home money was gone. Every penny of it. At first Elijah wouldn’t tell me what he’d done with it. He said it was between him and God. Then I started to worry. Maybe he was a gambling man like some of the people from town said—although looking back now, that made no sense. When did he have time to gamble? That man was always working. And who would he gamble with? The sheep? The goats?

It was only later, during a weak moment, that Elijah confessed. He’d given all our savings to the church—every penny of it. He said it was only right after what had happened. He said it wasn’t even a fraction of what was missing, but at least it made him feel better. I suppose for a moment his heart didn’t ache quite as much.

I wish Amelia were here today. I’d tell her the story over a cup of tea. Mama too. What I would do to see Mama’s gentle gaze, which always told me she cared.

Charlotte wiped her eyes, and as she glanced around she noticed that Dana was choked up too. Even Emily’s eyes were glistening.

“Wow, that puts things in perspective. A few little wedding details don’t seem like such a big deal.”

“Oh, Dana.” Charlotte pulled her into a close embrace. The pink sweater Dana wore was soft, and her hair smelled like apples. “I’m so glad you’re joining our family. And you’ll see. The wedding is going to be perfectly beautiful.”

Dana pulled away slowly. “I guess I should head home. I need to rest up before facing all my classes tomorrow. Those high schoolers sure know how to drain the life out of you.” Dana winked at Emily.

“Haha, very funny.” Emily gave Dana a quick hug.

“Pete, time to go,” Dana said as she went to the door and slipped her winter boots on.

“Aren’t you bossy! You’re acting like you rule the roost already. For the next month I’m still a bachelor.”

Laughter filled the room, so loud and boisterous that it made Charlotte jump.

“Pete, give up that idea now.” Bob laughed again. “If you want to make it to your first anniversary, that is.”