Part 7 (1/2)
NINE.
The supper party was only a few hours away, and Gwen still couldn't decide whether to wear the rose-pink dress or the lemon-yellow one. She liked them both.
”Oh, Cleo. Hurry up.” She checked the clock on her dresser. ”You were supposed to be here by now.”
A voice called to her from the front of the house. ”Halloo.”
Oh, mercy. It was her nosy next-door neighbor, Edna Updike. The worst gossip in town. Such a difficult woman, and one who could talk for hours without seeming to draw a breath. Gwen didn't have time to deal with her now. She shouldn't have left her door open, despite wanting to let in the fresh air.
”Miss Arlington. Are you there? Halloo.”
Patience. Give me patience. She took a quick breath, put a smile on her face, and left the bedroom. She took a quick breath, put a smile on her face, and left the bedroom.
Edna had her forehead pressed against the screen as she peered into the house. When she saw Gwen, she said, ”Oh, good. You are at home. I was hoping to speak to you.”
”How are you, Mrs. Updike?”
”My rheumatism's been acting up lately, but I'm well enough for a woman my age.”
Gwen waited for her neighbor to take two steps back, then pushed on the frame of the screen door to open it. ”Won't you come in?”
”Thank you.” She breezed past Gwen. ”It really is fine weather we're enjoying, isn't it? I was telling Mr. Updike this morning that I don't remember a prettier May in all the years we've lived in Bethlehem Springs. Of course, you haven't lived here near as long as we have, but don't you think this is the finest May ever?”
”Indeed.”
Edna plopped her plump form onto the sofa. ”Did you know our Lady had her pups this week? Five of them. That's a large litter for a small dog. I thought at first the littlest wouldn't survive, but she seems to have enough milk now and they're all thriving, including the runt.” She looked around the parlor. ”This really is the most pleasant room, Miss Arlington. You have quite the flair for decorating. So appealing.”
”Thank you.” Gwen sank onto a chair. ”What is it you wished to speak to me about?”
”Why, the newspaper, of course. What else?”
”Oh.” She resisted the urge to sigh.
”You surely are not serious about this election nonsense, Miss Arlington. Goodness, dear child. Being mayor is not a proper vocation for a woman, especially not a young, unmarried one such as yourself. Surely your father did not know you intended to do this or he would have forbidden you to consider it.”
”Yes, Mrs. Updike. My father did know. As a matter of fact, he encouraged me.”
Edna clucked her tongue. ”I declare. And what of your minister? He has undoubtedly advised you to withdraw.”
”No.” Gwen shook her head. ”He has not.”
”Then Reverend Rawlings has forgotten his duty as a man of the cloth. He should remind you that women are never to have authority over men. The Bible says so. Women are not equipped to a.s.sume leaders.h.i.+p roles. We are the weaker vessels, after all.”
Gwen quelled her irritation. Her neighbor was in her late sixties, set in her ways, and unlikely to change her mind about anything. ”Mrs. Updike, I know you mean well. Truly, I do. I appreciate your concern. But the Bible has several examples of women who held authority. What about Miriam, the sister of Moses, and also Deborah, who was a judge? Isn't a judge a little like a mayor?” She smiled to soften her words.
”That's the Old Testament,” Edna responded, accenting the words with a harrumph harrumph at the end. ”Christians live under the new covenant.” at the end. ”Christians live under the new covenant.”
”Then what about Priscilla and Phoebe? They were leaders in the early church. I believe when women are called the 'weaker vessel,' it means our physical strength, not that we are inferior.” She leaned forward. ”It isn't my wish to be argumentative, Mrs. Updike, but I was taught we must never use one verse of Scripture out of context from the whole.”
Edna gave her a cool stare. ”Miss Arlington, you are more like your sister than I suspected.” She stood. ”You shall regret this. Mark my words. It will be your ruination. No man of good standing will look upon you with favor.” She wagged her finger at Gwen. ”Your Mr. Benson will soon look elsewhere for a bride if you persist in your current way.”
”Since he is not my my Mr. Benson, he is free to look wherever he wishes. I do not intend to marry. Not him or any other man. I don't intend to surrender the freedoms I enjoy as a single woman. Too many men in this world want a servant, not an equal partner. They don't want someone who can walk beside them rather than behind.” Gwen's temper grew hotter with each word. ”And I'm delighted to know that you think I'm like Cleo. There's no one I admire more than my sister.” Mr. Benson, he is free to look wherever he wishes. I do not intend to marry. Not him or any other man. I don't intend to surrender the freedoms I enjoy as a single woman. Too many men in this world want a servant, not an equal partner. They don't want someone who can walk beside them rather than behind.” Gwen's temper grew hotter with each word. ”And I'm delighted to know that you think I'm like Cleo. There's no one I admire more than my sister.”
From the parlor doorway came Cleo's hoot of laughter. ”Now there's something I don't hear every day.”
Edna sputtered something about tending to the puppies and hurried out without a word of good-bye to Gwen or a word of greeting to Cleo. Rather than rise and follow her neighbor, Gwen covered her face with her hands and released a groan.
Wry amus.e.m.e.nt laced Cleo's voice. ”I take it Mrs. Updike isn't thrilled about you running for mayor.”
”I'm doomed to spinsterhood because of it.” Gwen lowered her hands. ”And possibly risking my salvation.”
Cleo snorted. ”Gwennie, given you're a Presbyterian and of the Calvinist persuasion, you can't possibly believe that.”
Despite herself, Gwen smiled. Cleo had an uncanny way of knowing just what to say to make her feel better.
”Now, what're you doing just sitting there? Don't you have a party to get ready for and an election to win?”
”Yes, I do.”
”Then let's get to it, sis. Times a wastin'.”
Cleo urged Gwen toward her bedroom much as she would herd cows into a corral. Once Gwen was seated at her dressing table, Cleo plucked the pins from her hair until it cascaded down her back. ”Guess who I rode into town with.” She began stroking Gwen's hair with the brush. ”Morgan McKinley.”
”Oh?”
”Yeah. He's had a hard time believing we're twins, just like most folks do.”
Gwen met her sister's gaze in the mirror, wondering what else he'd said to her.
”Before we parted company, he asked if I was going to the Carter s.h.i.+ndig with you.” Cleo grunted. ”As if you could drag me to something like that.”
”All you would need is a new evening frock and - ”
”Gwennie, haven't you learned by this time that you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear?”
Gwen grabbed her sister by the hand and twisted on the dressing stool to look at her. ”Don't say such things about yourself. You are not not a sow's ear.” a sow's ear.”
”Maybe not.” Cleo smiled gently. ”But I don't belong with the Carters and their like either. It's not just that I don't belong. I don't want want to belong. I like who I am.” to belong. I like who I am.”
Gwen sighed. ”I envy you, Cleo. You're so sure of who you are and what you want to do. I wish I was more like you.”
”Poppyc.o.c.k. You're already who you want to be. I just heard you saying so to Mrs. Updike. You're just nervous about tonight. That's all.”
Cleo took Gwen by the shoulders and turned her to face the mirror again. ”Now let's get your hair fixed or you'll never get to that party on time.”
Gwen knew everyone seated around the long table in Harrison and Susannah Carter's dining room - the Daily Herald's Daily Herald's Nathan Patterson and his wife, Christina; Samuel Benson, owner of the Pine Company sawmill, his wife, Flora, and their son, Charles, who was seated to Gwen's right; Jedidiah Winston, the Crow County sheriff, and his unmarried daughter, Rose; Mike O'Rourke of the Golden Gorge Mining Company; Reverend Walter Rawlings; Mayor Thaddeus Hopkins; and the four other county commissioners along with their wives. All sixteen present were dressed to the nines. Nathan Patterson and his wife, Christina; Samuel Benson, owner of the Pine Company sawmill, his wife, Flora, and their son, Charles, who was seated to Gwen's right; Jedidiah Winston, the Crow County sheriff, and his unmarried daughter, Rose; Mike O'Rourke of the Golden Gorge Mining Company; Reverend Walter Rawlings; Mayor Thaddeus Hopkins; and the four other county commissioners along with their wives. All sixteen present were dressed to the nines.