Morning Glory

'You don’t? Well, Timothy Totter does. And his name is Tatters. When you come, I’ll introduce you to both Timothy and Tatters. And now, if you’ll excuse me, I must speak to Mr. Parker a moment.'

Miss Beasley could not have chosen a gentler method of bringing Eleanor around to the idea of bumping up against the outside world again. If there was an ideal way to reach Eleanor it was through her children. By the time Miss Beasley’s interchange with Donald Wade ended, Eleanor was sitting, looking less as if she was preparing to bolt. Miss Beasley told her, 'That’s the best chocolate cake I’ve ever had. I wouldn’t mind having the recipe,' then turned to Will without pause. 'I’ve come bearing some sad news. Levander Sprague, who has cleaned my library for the past twenty-six years, dropped dead of a heart attack night before last.'

'Oh… I’m sorry.' He’d never heard of Levander Sprague. Why in the world had she brought the news clear out here?

'Mr. Sprague shall be sorely missed. However, he lived a long and fruitful life, and he leaves behind nine strapping boys to see their mother through her last years. I, however, am left without a custodian. The job pays twenty-five dollars a week. Would you like it, Mr. Parker?'

Will’s face flattened with surprise. His glance shot to Elly, then back to the librarian, as she hastened on. 'Six nights a week, after the library closes. Caring for the floors, dusting the furniture, burning the trash, stoking the furnace in the winters, occasionally carrying boxes of books to the basement, building additional shelves when we need them.'

'Well…' Will’s amazement modified into a crooked smile as he chuckled and ran a hand down the back of his head. 'That’s quite an offer, Miss Beasley.'

'I thought about offering it to one of Mr. Sprague’s sons, but quite frankly, I’d rather have you. You have a certain respect for the library that I like. And I heard that you were summarily dismissed from the sawmill, which irritated my sense of fair play.'

Will was too surprised to be offended. His mind raced. What would Elly say? And should he be gone evenings when she was so close to due? But twenty-five dollars a week-every week-and his days still free!

'When would you want me to start?'

'Immediately. Tomorrow. Today if possible.'

'Today… well, I… I’d have to think it over,' he replied, realizing Elly ought to have a say.

'Very well. I’ll wait outside.'

Wait outside? But he needed time to feel Elly out. He should have guessed that Miss Beasley would tolerate no shilly-shallying. He was already scratching his jaw in consternation as the door closed. At the same moment Eleanor arose stiffly from her chair and began clearing away the cake plates.

'Elly?' he asked.

She wouldn’t look at him. 'You take it, Will. I can see you want to.'

'But you don’t want me to, right?'

'Don’t be silly.'

'I could buy fixtures for a bathroom and I’d still have days free to put it in for you.'

'I said, take it.'

'But you don’t like me hangin’ around town, do you?'

She set the dishes in the dishpan and did an about-face. 'My feelings for town are mine. I got no right to keep you from it, if that’s what you want.'

'But Miss Beasley’s fair. She never put you down for anything, did she?'

'Take it.'

'And what about when the baby starts coming?'

'A woman has plenty of warning.'

'You’re sure?'

She nodded, though he could see that it cost her dearly to let him go.

He crossed the room in four strides, grasped her jaws and planted a quick, hard kiss on her cheek. 'Thank you, honey.' Then he slammed out the door.

Honey? When he was gone she placed her palms where his had been. She was probably the most unhoney female within fifty miles, but the word had warmed her cheeks and tightened her chest. Before the thrill subsided, Will came slamming back inside.

'Elly? I’m giving Miss Beasley a ride back to town and she’ll show me around the library, then I’ll probably sweep up for her before I come back. Don’t wait supper for me.'

'All right.'

He was half out the door before he changed his mind and returned to her side. 'Will you be all right?'

'Fine.'

Looking up into his eager face, she bit back all her misgivings. He’d never know from her how badly she wanted him here from now until the baby came. Or how she feared having him working in town where everyone called her crazy, where prettier and brighter women were bound to make him take a second look at what he’d married and regret it.

But how could she hold him back when he could scarcely stand still for excitement?

'I’ll be fine,' she repeated.

He squeezed her arm and was gone.

Chapter 12

Will took the car, in deference to Miss Beasley. On the way into town they spoke of the boys, the birthday, and finally of Elly.

'She’s a stubborn woman, Miss Beasley. You might as well know, the reason I asked for that book on human birthing was because she refuses to have a doctor. She wants me to deliver the baby.'

'And will you?'

'Reckon I’ll have to. If I don’t she’ll do it alone. That’s how stubborn she is.'

'And you’re scared.'

'Damn right, I’m scared!' Will suddenly remembered himself. 'Oh, sorry, ma’am-I mean, well, who wouldn’t be?'

'I’m not blaming you, Mr. Parker. But apparently her other two were born at home, weren’t they?'

'Yes.'

'Without complications.'

'Now you sound like her.'

He told her about the book and how it had scared him. She told him about going off to college and how it had scared her, but how the experience had made her a stronger person. He told her about the boys and how awkward he’d felt around them at first. She told him she too had felt awkward around them today. He told her how scared Elly was of the bees and how he himself loved working with them. She told him how she loved working among the books and that in time Elly would come to see he was cautious and industrious, but he must be patient with her. He asked her what kind of man Glendon Dinsmore had been and she answered, as different from you as air is from earth. He asked which he was, air or earth? She laughed and said, 'That’s what I like about you-you really don’t know.'

They talked all the way to town-argued some-and neither of them considered what a queer combination they made-Will, with his prison record and slapdash education, Miss Beasley with her estimable position and college degree. Will with his long history of drifting, Miss Beasley with her long one of permanence. He with his family of near-three, she an old maid. Both had been lonely in their own way. Will, because of his orphaned past, Gladys because of her superior intellect. He was a man who rarely confided, she a woman in whom people rarely confided. He felt lucky to have her as a sounding board and she felt flattered to be chosen as such.

Diametric opposites, they found in each other the perfect conversational complement, and by the time they reached town their mutual respect was cemented.

The library was closed that afternoon in memory of Levander Sprague, who’d worked there nearly a third of his life. It was a cloudy day, but inside the building was warm and bright. Entering, Will looked at the place through