Authors: Ruth Ann Hixson
She dressed quickly and hurried downstairs where she tried to get Sherry to unlock the door. All she got was silence. She called Judy to tell her she wouldn't be in to work.
"I called Michelle in. She's within walking distance."
The only boots Alison had were the spike heeled ones and she didn't intend to walk over to the farm in them. She found Sherry's snow boots in the closet in the breezeway and put them on. She got her long brown vinyl coat with the hood. Then she set out walking to the farm.
Jan had come home early and was in the kitchen with Mark and Frank who sat at the table with coffee when Alison walked in without knocking. Alison took out the plastic bag holding the test and asked, "Does anyone know what this is?"
Jan turned around to see what she had. "It's a pregnancy test. Positive."
"If you're pregnant, Alison, don't blame me," Frank spoke up.
"I'm on the pill."
"Too much information," he joked.
"I found this in the upstairs bathroom," she informed them.
Frank's eyebrows went up. "Sherry? Sherry's pregnant?"
"Sherry's pregnant?" Mark repeated. "Oh, Sherry's pregnant! Where is she?"
"She locked herself in the den with a glass of milk and a bag of chips."
He grinned from ear to ear. "I'm going to be daddy." He jumped up and headed for the door.
"Wait for me," Alison called as she ran after him. She barely had time to climb up in the truck before he took off.
"Why does she always lock herself in?" Mark asked as he went through the dining and living rooms with Alison in his wake.
"She always has. Even when she was a little girl. I just let her go until she's ready to come out."
"I don't have time for that. It's time to do the milking." He rapped sharply on the door. "Sherry, open this door." He rapped again. "Sherry, don't make me break this door down."
The door opened. "Don't you dare. You still haven't fixed the bathroom door you broke."
He stepped into to the den and closed the door before taking the pregnancy test from his coveralls pocket and holding it up for her to see.
"Where'd you get that?"
"Your mom brought it over to me. We're going to have a little Blakely."
"You don't need to be so pleased about it. I'm not. I'm not ready to be a mother."
"There's not much choice at this point, is there?"
"I thought about an abortion but I could never do that. What if Mom would have had an abortion when she was pregnant with me? I wouldn't even be here."
"We should get married."
She walked over to the window to gaze out at the snow blowing in the twilight. She turned around with a pained expression on her face. "Yes, we should. I'll try not to make you too unhappy."
"Sherry darling, you couldn't make me unhappy if you tried. I love you. I want to marry you. We shouldn't wait."
"No, we shouldn't."
"The courthouse is open till four o'clock. I can get off work at three. I'll meet you there tomorrow afternoon. Providing, of course, that the roads are cleared. I don't want you driving in bad weather."
She nodded. "I'll be there."
He pulled her into an embrace and just held her against his chest. "We'll do what we have to do."
"Yes," she agreed. "I don't want to have a baby out of wedlock. I know what I've been through."
"Sherry, now that we're getting married, do you care if I bring my stuff over? I'm going to ask Dad if I can have the furniture in my bedroom. Then we can sleep in a real bed upstairs."
"And we can put the mattress in the room across the hall from the bathroom for Mom. Turn these downstairs rooms into what they were intended to be." She frowned thoughtfully. "I guess I should call Dad and tell him."
"Sherry!" Alison called. "Your dad's on the phone. He wants to talk to you."
"You timed that just right. I have to get back over to help with the milking. Kiss me. I'll have a truckload of my stuff when I come back for supper."
"Hi, Dad. How do you like this weather?"
"I don't. That's why I called. I have some more things for you but I'm not bringing them out tonight."
"Dad," Sherry's brain suddenly turned to jelly.
"What's wrong, sweetheart?"
"Dad, I'm pregnant."
He was silent a moment before asking, "Is Mark going to marry you?"
"Yes. I'm supposed to meet him at the courthouse tomorrow so we can get our license."
He sounded relieved. "Then I won't have to dust off the old shotgun."
"No. Nothing like that. I love you, Dad. I'll talk to you later."
"One more thing. I forgot when you hit me with that pregnancy bit. I talked to Mom and Grammy. They both want to meet you. How about Sunday dinner?"
Sherry was dumbfounded and didn't reply right away. "I...I have a grandmother?"
Sam laughed. "A grandmother and a great-grandmother. Grammy's ninety-two and still kicking."
"Does that invitation include Mom and Mark?"
"I'll call them back and ask. I'm pretty sure about Mark; your mother, a little iffy. I'll get back to you."
After she hung up and she turned to her mother. "Mom, stay out Mark and my affairs. You had no business taking that test over to Mark. I was going to tell him."
"Rarff! You bark; do you bite, too?"
"When I have to. I mean it, Mom. Keep your nose to yourself. What's between Mark and me is none of your business."
"If it involves you it's my business. You're my only baby. I want what's best for you."
"Right! That's why you broke all my dishes and my windows. Because you love me so much. Just leave me alone for a while."
"I suppose that means I should make supper. What was all that business about an invitation?"
"Dad's mother and grandmother want to meet me. I'm invited to dinner on Sunday. He's going to call to find out about you and Mark."
"What makes you think I want to meet Sam's family?"
Sherry left the kitchen without answering her. She came back fifteen minutes later for the broom. "Mom. I want you to help me. We need to clean those upstairs rooms. That means that cedar chest and trunk need to be moved to the room you used to have. You can have the room across from the bathroom."
"You have Mom's cedar chest?"
"Yes. It was in the loft over the breezeway. There's a secret door from the closet in the master bedroom. There's a letter on top saying it's mine. I haven't gone through it yet."
"Mom told Roy she got rid of it."
"So? What's your point?"
"It seems Mom left you a whole lot more than just the house like it says in the will."
"I read the will. It said the house and anything left in the house when I take possession. Gram knew what she was doing."
Chapter 30
Mark did just what he said he would. He arrived at seven-thirty with his truck packed with his possessions which he carried to the breezeway where Mitzi investigated them. "Open the door!" he yelled to whoever might be in the kitchen. When Sherry opened it, he came in carrying two lamps with his briefcase under his arm. "Take my briefcase before I drop it."
"Oh, good," Alison said. "Lamps for the living room."
"These lamps go upstairs," Mark said. "They're mine."
Alison shrugged. "They need new shades anyway."
"There's nothing wrong with these shades. They're a little darkened with age but that's all. They're pure silk."
"Oh, pardon me for my ignorance."
"Mom, what did I tell you?"
"Is there a light bulb in the master bed room?" he asked Sherry.
"Mom climbed up on a chair and put one in so we could see to clean."
"Good. Dad told me to give him an hour to eat and read the paper. Then we'll haul the furniture over on the truck. He gave it all to me including the extra bedding in the chest of drawers."
"Isn't that a little much after a day's work?" Sherry asked.
"No. He didn't do much today. He slept most of the afternoon. I'm the one who was out plowing snow. All he did was shovel the walk from the mudroom door to the driveway after Mom called and told him she'd be home early. We are going to sleep in a real bed tonight."
"What about me?" Alison asked.
"We'll move the mattress upstairs for you." Sherry took one of the lamps and followed him upstairs. "Sometimes Mom gets just a little too bossy. I told her off about taking that pregnancy test over to you. I wanted to tell you myself."
"No harm done," he responded."I'm hungry. What did you make for supper?"
"Mom made supper. Steak with mashed potatoes and gravy. I don't know what else."
"Let's go see."
Alison stayed in the den in front of the fire while Mark and Frank carried in the bedroom furniture. "Having that door open cools off the house too much," she complained to Sherry.
"We didn't bring the armoire yet," Mark explained. "It's too tall to fit in the bedroom. Where do you want it?"
"Living room. It will be good storage space."
He kissed Sherry. "I'll be back as soon as I ride along over to get my truck."
****
"Sherry?"
"Yes," she said hesitantly as she eyed the woman standing at her front door.
The woman's smile was friendly as she offered her hand. "I'm Hannah Reese. I've come to talk to your about the diaries."
"Oh." Sherry's light bulb came on. "Cousin Hannah. Of course. Come in."
"Is your mother at home?" Hannah asked softly.
"She's still in bed. She works nights." Sherry noted the woman's shoulder length gray hair and blue eyes.
"Is there somewhere we can talk confidentially? The den perhaps?" she looked around taking in the broken windows. "She really went on the rampage this time, didn't she?"
"It's warmer in the den," Sherry said. "There's a fire in the fireplace."
Without being asked Hannah seated herself in the gold rocker and used the gold brocade stool for a table on which she set a well worn brown briefcase. "I have this letter to show you."
Sherry closed the door and seated herself on the brown chair. She reached out to take the paper that had a letterhead from a big name publishing company. She read, "Dear Ms. Reese: We have read your proposal for the publication of the Winnette War Diaries. We are quite interested. We agree it would be best to begin with those from the French and Indian War. Please discuss this with your cousin and get back to us as quickly as you can."
Sherry looked up at Hannah's smiling face. "They want to publish the diaries."
"Yes. Isn't that wonderful? Then the world can share them and they aren't just decaying in a safe deposit box."
"But they're so fragile. Wouldn't reading them destroy them?"
"It must be done very carefully wearing white cotton gloves. I found it works best to transcribe them by hand to a notebook and then type them into the computer. You do know how to use a computer, don't you?"
"Of course. They teach that in school."
Hannah gazed around the room. "That desk will have to be moved over to this wall where there's a phone jack."
"That's Mark's desk. He put it there."
"Well, we'll just have to move it. You won't be able to work on the diaries in that much sunlight. And you must be adjacent to a phone jack to go online. After we do that, we'll go shopping for a computer."
"I can't afford a computer," Sherry said.
"I can. I'll be quite frank with you. I can't do this all myself. I'm getting too old. My fingers stiffen up if I type too long. I hear you're getting married. The computer will be a wedding gift. We're talking about big bucks here, girl. You'll get your share. It's a job where you can work at home. We should get a sizable advance, in the thousands."
"All right. What do we do first? I'm afraid I don't know my way around the publishing industry."
"First we go to the bank and get those French and Indian War diaries. Maybe we should stop there on our way home. Let's go up to State College. Having worked at the university all those years, I know people up there. It'll give you a chance to get to know this part of the country."
When they stopped at the bank on the way back from State College, Jan was a bit wary about Sherry having the diaries in the house with her mother there. "If she tries anything she will go back to jail," Sherry assured her.
When they got back to Sherry's, Mark's truck sat in the driveway in front of the garage door where he usually parked. "It's later than I thought," Sherry said.
"I'll move my car so you can pull in the garage, then I'll move it back so I won't block his red monster. We'll have some help carrying that big box in."
When Sherry came from the garage Mark stood leaning against the kitchen door frame with his arms folded across his chest. The way it made his muscles bulge beneath his gray tee shirt looked sexy. "Where were you off to?" he asked.
"I expected to be back before now," Sherry excused. "Will you carry this box in from my car?"
"What's in it?"
"A computer."
"A what?"
"You heard me. Cousin Hannah bought it as a wedding gift."
Hannah chose that moment to come in the door. "Don't worry Mark, I'll reap the benefits of it, too. Sherry's going to transcribe those diaries so we can publish them. I already have a publisher lined up."
Chapter 31
"Lisa, this is Sherry. Mark and I are getting married Saturday. I would like for you to be my maid of honor."
"You're getting married on Halloween? How original. Are you going to dress like the witch you are?"
At Mark's insistence Sherry had his cell phone on speaker and he could hear what his sister was saying. He reached for the phone but Sherry turned away.
"Lisa, I'm sorry we got off on the wrong foot that weekend you were home. Mark and I truly love each other and would like you to be part of our wedding."
"I already have tickets for the football game. You'll have to find someone else. I know you're taking advantage of Mark. Why would he bother with a little bastard like you?"
Lisa's words stung but Sherry tried to keep her voice even. "I don't care what you say or think about me. It's Mark's wedding, too. If you love your brother, do it for him, not me."