The Earring

Book 1 Part 8

"Don't try to scare her away," he added. "I'm still trying to get her to realize she loves me."

"Well, if she don't know that then she's none too smart. It's as plain as the nose on her face to me. Yep, she's got those 'goo-goo' eyes that you youngsters call love, but it ain't nothing but lust. You mark my words."

They had that conversation in the afternoon before David took me out and ventured to tell me that he loved me. He said Maw's certainty gave him the courage to say those three words that both of us considered a sign that we were ready to commit to a long-term relationship. The last time a boy had told me he loved me, I had laughed at him and told him he didn't even know what love was. This time, I looked at David and responded with six words: "I think I love you too."

For David, that was enough. When he got home, he told Maw, "I told her I love her, Maw, so you might as well get rid of your suspicions. She's going to be your new grand-daughter-in-law."

"Well, Shot," Maw said. "If she has sense enough to love my grandson, then I reckon I'd better get to work trying to love her. Even if she ain't the one I'd of picked, she does make you go to church with her."

Maw never said another negative word about me, and her cool reception warmed right up. When she asked me if I wanted to help her shell peas the next day, David said that was a sign of favor. She was particular about who she let touch her garden produce.

#

Faith remembered when she knew that her mother accepted Aaron as a prospective son-in-law. It was the day Mama chose to have a little chat with him. Most suitors get the third degree from the girl's father, and that is the extent of the formality that signals indoctrination into the family. In the Lander family, initiation was not complete until Mama Sydney had her tête-à-tête with the affianced.

Faith and Aaron stopped by Mama's house for a visit. After they were comfortably seated in the porch sunroom, Faith was dispatched to the kitchen.

"Why don't you fix us some tea while Aaron and I get better acquainted," Mama said to Faith. "There's a fresh cobbler ready to come out of the oven, too."

Taking her cue, Faith dutifully went into the kitchen, leaving Mama alone with Aaron. Curious as to what Mama might say to her fellow, Faith stayed as close as possible to the window that was open behind the swing where her mother held court.

She didn't know what she expected Mama to say, but what she heard was a surprise.

"Faith is a special person," Mama said. "I can see that you love her, and she loves you. I know the last thing you want is advice from a meddling prospective mother-in-law, but I'm going to give it anyway. I've had this conversation with Ivy and the spouses of my nieces and nephews whose mother died when they were young, so I've got it down to a science."

When Aaron tried to say something, Mama wouldn't let him.

"Shush, young man," she said. "It doesn't take that long to make tea, so let me have my say. When you marry my daughter, you're going to promise to love her until death do you part. I expect you to keep that promise, but I can tell you it won't be easy. For a marriage to last, both partners have to mean that commitment when they make it. You two love each other, and love is a noble emotion, but without the obligation to work through the instances when life numbs love, the relationship will falter. You do not believe you will ever betray Faith or that she will ever mislead you, but deceit in some form enters each marriage. Every marriage ceremony should include the vow to love despite betrayal and the promise to work together to offer forgiveness in the face of treachery. But I suppose that is too much to ask. It's probably a little too much negativity."