Teach Me

11

I returned to the house a little after midday. I'd made good progress on the wedding dress and I had filled all special requests that had been submitted for the week. After five long days of working on the wedding dress, as well as filling orders and making extras of certain items to either store or send to other communities, I was exhausted.

When I entered through the front door, I was shocked to see Beverly sitting on the couch. My heart quickened given our last encounter. I wasn't sure how this one would unfold.

She turned when she heard the door open and greeted me with a smile. "Hello, dear," she said. "I apologize, but I do forget your name."

"Willow," I said, albeit a bit reluctantly.

"Yes, Willow. What a gorgeous name."

I smiled and shut the front door behind me. "Thank you, Beverly."

She picked a mug up from the table beside her and took a sip before placing it back down. "My son is out in town, doing I'm not sure what and my daughter and husband are out riding horses. It would be nice to have a visit with a new face."

I approached her cautiously, unsure of what to say. The last time her daughter and husband had been brought up in conversation, I was physically assaulted by her.

"Okay, what would you like to talk about?" I asked. By sitting on the couch opposite her, I was able to create distance between the two of us.

"Oh, well let's see. My birthday is coming up! I'll be fifty years old next month!"

"Fifty? Well, that is a milestone birthday!" I said.

"I'm quite excited. My husband always buys me the sweetest morning desserts and my daughter told me she'd cook my favorite dinner. Locke has been working on building me a new nightstand for my room." The smile on her face grew while she talked, and I pitied her.

It hadn't been confirmed to me yet, but in her outrage during our last conversation, she'd said that her husband was killed. I knew he and Locke's sister weren't here in Clearhelm at least. I wasn't sure if either of them were alive or where they were living if they were.

I offered her a smile and nodded. "That sounds quite lovely, Beverly."

"It is, isn't it? The weather is quite lovely. I do wish it wouldn't change. I hate when it gets much colder."

That was something we could agree on. The weather had an early autumn chill, just enough to wear a jacket when going outside. Once it began to snow, I did my best to stay indoors.

"Beverly," a voice called from upstairs. "Ready to go on your walk?"

Gail descended the staircase and greeted me before grabbing Beverly's jacket.

"Oh, won't you join us dear?" Beverly asked.

I stared, conflicted, between the two women. Gail offered me a polite smile while Beverley looked hopeful. I was wary but decided to join, perhaps against my better judgment.

I hadn't taken my jacket off earlier when I'd arrived, so I stood up and laced my boots.

"Such a glorious day!" Beverley cheered when we walked outside.

We walked for a few minutes, with Beverly mostly talking about her observations as well as asking me a few questions about my personal life.

"You would be the perfect wife for Locke. He's not married you know," she said.

"Oh," I responded, a bit taken aback. My cheeks and neck warmed. "I'm not sure that Locke is searching for a wife."

She sighed and turned her head toward me. "Nonsense. You're beautiful and intelligent. My son might need a swift kick to the ass."