As Love Blooms (9 page)

From the backseat of the Oldsmobile Cadillac, Tessa laid her hand on Sam’s shoulder. “Thank you for taking me to the Ladies’ Gardening Society, and Hannah and Charlotte, thank you for coming along. It’s like old times—spending the day together.”

Sam patted the back of the girl’s hand. “You don’t need to thank me, dear. Everyone is invited.”

“But we all know that isn’t really true. Without your introduction, the members wouldn’t truly welcome us.”

Sam turned to look at Tessa and lifted her eyebrows. “I’m not sure how much good an introduction from me will do with these ladies. I believe I’ve been referred to as a ‘crazy old troublemaker’ more than once by the club’s president. You might be better off simply attending with your sisters.” She glanced in the rear seat and smiled at Charlotte and Hannah. “You two don’t have to hold your tongues. You both know I’m telling the truth.”

Charlotte bit back a chuckle. “It’s always an honor to go out with you, Aunt Sam, and it will be fun to spend the morning supporting our sister.”

“And keeping an eye on her.” A mischievous glint sparkled in Hannah’s eyes.

Tessa frowned. “Hey, I don’t—”

“She’s teasing you, dear,” Sam said as the driver pulled the automobile to the curb. He climbed out and came around to open Sam’s door. She surveyed the area. The gardening society met near the Elks Club, across from the post office. She was familiar with the Rice Park area since her suffrage meetings were near here.

She noticed a friend standing on the porch of the Elks Club. “Why don’t you girls go on in? I see someone I’d like to speak to. I’ll be right up.”

Once the sisters entered the hall, she made a beeline for the columned Elks Club. Her friend came down to the sidewalk to meet her.

“Hello, Samantha. I was hoping you’d come over to speak to me.”

Her lips curled up at the sound of his deep voice. “James, how did you know I’d be here?”

“You mentioned you might attend the club meeting with Tessa. I had my clerk find out when the next meeting would be.”

As if she were a schoolgirl with a crush, a tiny thrill fired through her, but that was silly. She was too old for this nonsense.

He motioned toward a bench. Once she was seated, he took his place beside her. “I know I’ve asked several times already, but will you have dinner with me, please?”

Should she? They’d been friends for years, but somewhere along the line, things had begun to feel differently. Their once-a-week lunches seemed to take on a life of their own, filled with innocent flirtations. Both of them had been widowed a long time now, but would their families approve? Dinner seemed to be a big step forward, and what if it ruined the friendship she’d grown to cherish?

She licked her dry-as-cotton lips. “I’m not sure we should take the chance.”

“Where’s the crusader? The woman who learned to ride a bicycle at fifty, who wears bloomers to every social function she possibly can, and who’s intent on saying what she thinks on any given subject? I know my risk taker Sam wants to say yes to dinner.”

She looked into his coffee-colored eyes, fanned by wrinkles much like her own, and smiled. “But your friend Sam isn’t so sure it’s a good idea.”

“One dinner. Then, if you want, we can go back to weekly lunches, and I won’t bother you anymore.”

Hope radiated from him, making her traitorous heart swell at the thought of an evening alone with him.

“One dinner. Next week.” She stood. “I’d better go before the girls come looking for me. I’d like to keep our friendship private, all right?”

He grinned. “For now.”

Tessa nearly bounced up the stairs of the hall. A gardening society. Surely this would be a place she’d find several kindred spirits. She could share her knowledge of horticulture and garden design, and participate in hours of flora and fauna discussions. What could be better?

She scurried inside with Hannah and Charlotte on her heels. She paused in the foyer and glanced upward. Her heart skipped. Oh my, even the light fixture sported periwinkles.

“May I help you?” The lady at the desk looked as if helping them was the last thing she wanted to do. She pulled what Tessa guessed was the club’s logbook closer to her and guarded it like a sentry.

Tessa approached with all the grace and dignity she’d been taught at the finishing school. “Yes, ma’am, you can. We’re here to join the gardening society.”

“You?” The lady’s nasally voice echoed in the foyer.

“Yes, my sisters and I.” Tessa’s back stiffened. “The club is open to all, is it not?”

“Of course, but there is the matter of the yearly dues of two dollars. For each of you.” Her gaze swept to Charlotte and Hannah.

“Two dollars?” Hannah stepped forward.

Tessa clenched the chain of her purse. Although she had the money inside it, the price seemed a bit steep to her. Were all new members quoted that amount?

“If it’s a problem, there is a Community Garden Club on Snelling for which the dues are only twenty cents a year. Perhaps that would be more fitting.”

Anger began to flicker inside Tessa. This woman didn’t know if they had twenty cents or twenty dollars, but since she didn’t recognize them, she judged them unworthy of her club.

The creaking of the front door drew Tessa’s attention. Aunt Sam, thankfully wearing a tasteful lavender suit rather than her cycling bloomers, breezed inside. Only a slight limp remained from her apoplexy. “Dears, why aren’t you meeting the other members already? I’m sure the program is about to begin.”

The lady at the desk sucked in her breath. “Mrs. Phillips?”

“Yes, that’s me.” Aunt Sam removed her tan kid gloves.

“Thank you for joining us,” the lady gushed. “Are these lovely young ladies with you? I was explaining about our club’s dues.”

“Oh?” She eyed each sister. “Is there a problem?”

“She thought we might be more comfortable at the Community Garden Club,” Tessa said.

“Is that so? While I’m sure you ladies would fit in anywhere, I think we’ll join this club. It’s closer to home. Now, about those dues.”

“It’s”—the lady coughed into her gloved hand—“two dollars per person, ma’am.”

“Then ten dollars will more than cover all four of us.” Aunt Sam opened her purse, pulled out a bill, and dropped it onto the desk. “Girls, shall we?”

The lady pushed the logbook forward. “But you need to sign—”

Aunt Sam waved the book away. “We’ll take care of that after the meeting. We don’t want to miss anything. You’ve delayed us long enough.”

Like ducklings, Tessa and her sisters followed Aunt Sam into the meeting room. They found four empty seats in the center. Many ladies noticed their arrival, but only a handful introduced themselves. Tessa sighed. Breaking into this circle was going to be harder than she’d thought.

The club’s president, Eleanor Bates, stepped to the podium and pounded her gavel more times than necessary to draw everyone’s attention. Then her gaze landed on Aunt Sam. Disapproval flickered across her face, but she quickly seemed to stem it. “I see we have some new members. Mrs. Phillips, would you care to introduce yourself and the ladies joining you?”

Aunt Sam stood. “With pleasure, Eleanor. I’m Mrs. Phillips, and these three young ladies are my nieces—Mrs. Lincoln Cole, who’s an attorney, Mrs. Joel Brooks, who’s the chef in charge of City Hospital’s kitchen, and Miss Tessa Gregory, who is studying horticulture at college.”

Polite applause echoed throughout the hall.

“So pleased you could join us.” Mrs. Bates’s words struck a false note, making Tessa flinch. “Now, ladies, it’s my honor to introduce today’s guest speaker. Leroy Boughner of Minneapolis is part of the American Civic Association. Last February, he spoke at the organization’s national meeting, outlining a program he began in Minneapolis known as the vacant lot gardens campaign. I’ll let him tell you the rest.”

Mr. Boughner didn’t stand behind the podium but addressed the ladies from the stage. His broad hand gestures displayed his enthusiasm for the project, and from the way he self-consciously tugged at his lapels, Tessa surmised he was probably more comfortable in work clothes.

“By the end of 1911,” he said, “we had planted vegetables and
flowers in 360 vacant lots. We gave out 28,000 cabbage and tomato plants and 22,000 packets of nasturtium seeds.”

He went on to explain how with the garden club acting as intermediary, every vacant lot on Hennepin Avenue had been cleaned and planted with grass and flowers.

The more he spoke, the more excitement bubbled through Tessa. What a wonderful idea!

“We’d like to expand this program to Saint Paul. The city will be divided into six districts, and a student from the Minnesota Farm School will serve as an assistant gardener. We’re asking clubs like yours to help. We need people who are experienced with gardening to teach those in the communities how to plant and tend their gardens.”

Tessa clasped her hands together and smiled at her sisters.

Mr. Boughner’s gaze swept over the club members. “Would any of you like to volunteer to help work in these gardens?”

Tessa’s hand shot up.

Alone.

She shot a plea toward her sisters. They looked at one another, shrugged, and raised their hands as well.

“Thank you, ladies. Anyone else?”

Nervous chatter indicated how uncomfortable the ladies were at the idea.

Mrs. Bates rose from her seat on the front row. “I believe I can speak for the club in offering a ten-dollar donation to the cause.”

The ladies applauded.

Ten dollars? That was all? Besides, Mr. Boughner had asked for gardeners, not money.

Aunt Sam lifted her hand in the air. “I’d like to make a challenge. I will give five dollars to this most worthy endeavor for each lady in this room who actually gets her hands dirty by assisting in this civic project.”

Tessa did a quick calculation. There were nearly forty women
in the room. If half of them helped, Aunt Sam was committing to a hundred dollar donation.

“Ma’am, that’s an incredibly generous offer!” Mr. Boughner grinned like a fool. “Now, I’d like to ask again, who would like to volunteer?”

A dirt clod–sized lump formed in Tessa’s stomach. What if no one else volunteered? If this made the ladies feel guilty, they might ostracize her. Then how would she ever influence them in the conservatory’s favor?
Please, God, make them volunteer.

One by one, hands went up until Tessa was certain more than half had agreed to help. Mr. Boughner directed them all to leave their names and telephone numbers with him so he could organize the efforts. As soon as the meeting was dismissed, he hurried over to speak to Aunt Sam. “Ma’am, thank you again for your pledge.”

“It’s my pleasure, young man.”

He turned toward Tessa. “And thank you for being the first brave soul to volunteer. I heard your aunt say you are studying horticulture. We can certainly use your talents to organize the others. May I call on you to help me organize the ladies into teams?”

Oh no. Not another commitment. Tessa looked to her two sisters, her eyes begging for assistance in getting out of the predicament.

Hannah grinned. “It is a worthy cause, Tessa.”

“Yes, very.” Charlotte linked her arm with Tessa’s. “She’ll be glad to help.”

“Thank you. I look forward to working with you.”

After Mr. Boughner said goodbye to all four of them, Tessa turned to her sisters. “Why did you say I’d be glad to help?”

Charlotte placed her hand on Tessa’s arm. “You’re the one who’s so anxious to be taken seriously. This will be a great chance to show the club how important gardening is to you.”

“And the busier you are, the less apt you are to get into trouble,” Hannah added with a grin.

Aunt Sam pulled her gloves back on. “You should be thanking them. I thought he was rather cute.”

Charlotte giggled. “And I think he liked you.”

Good heavens, another man in her life was the last thing she needed right now.

Mrs. Bates strutted toward their circle. Every nerve in Tessa’s body seemed to pulsate as the president approached.

“Miss Gregory.” Mrs. Bates elongated her name in an unnatural fashion. “I hear you’re going to be heading things up on the club’s behalf. You’re a rather ambitious young lady, aren’t you? You must be a great deal like your aunt.”

Tessa flashed the woman a saucy grin. “I’ll take that as a compliment. Thank you. Thank you very much.”