Sharing Corrie

Chapter Thirty Eight

 "Are you sure about this? We still have Christina's bedroom prepared if she'd prefer," Anita questioned for the thousandth time.

Corrie lifted her bag and placed it in the back of the automobile. "She won't move home. Besides, the salt air is supposed to do her some good."

"But it's winter! I wish you girls would just both stay here. And now Jacqueline is joining you too." Corrie's mother shook her head disapprovingly.

Of course, Jack was only joining them because they were in need of a chaperone and neither of their parents could be pulled away from their busy lives in Irvington. Besides, Jack needed something to do in place of her factory work.

"We'll be home as soon as Christina's feeling better. You'll forward any letters on to us?" Corrie confirmed, eying her mother.

The lack of letters from David was the only reason Corrie had considered postponing their trip; she could only hope that her parents' disapproval of the young man would not further endanger Christina's heart and health by causing them to withhold his letters.

"Do you promise?" Corrie prodded.

"Every letter. I promise." Anita placed her hand over her heart.

Corrie nodded and offered her mother a one-armed hug. "Goodbye, Mother."

"Goodbye, Cornelia. When you return and Christina is healthy again, we'll discuss your future. I can't bear to see you waste away like your Aunt Jack." Though Anita had finally forgiven Corrie for turning down Edwin, she was still convinced that there was still time to save Corrie from spinsterhood. "I hear there's a preacher a few towns over whose wife died. He has three children and is in search of a wife to mother his children. Shall I make some inquiries on your behalf?"

Corrie closed her eyes for a moment, dread rather than rage filling her. Had she fallen so low that desperate widowers were her only prospects?

"No, Mother. I'm fine. I must be going." Corrie pried herself from her mother's grasp and climbed into the automobile.

"Do write, darling! Let me know if you need me to send you anything!"

Anita waved her handkerchief as they departed and Corrie breathed a sigh of relief once her mother's figure faded from view. She may mean well, but her good intentions were still barbed with disapproval and judgment. When Mr. Bricker pulled the automobile in front of the practice, they found Aunt Jack, Hannah, and Dr. Benjamin awaiting them with a stack of luggage.

"There you are!" Jack cried. "It's about time; I'm too old to wait around."

Corrie laughed. "I'm sorry, Aunt Jack. I was forced to hear my mother offer to marry me off to a widower and father of three so I wouldn't become..." her voice trailed off.

Jack roared in laughter. "So you wouldn't become an old spinster like me? You can say it, Corrie. My skin's far too thick to be offended by what everyone has said about me for years. At least you say it to my face."

Corrie blushed fiercely when she realized Dr. Benjamin and Hannah were hiding their own laughter at Corrie's faux pas. At Jack's broad smile, Corrie realized she would much rather be like Aunt Jack than marry someone for whom she felt no affection. At least she would have her freedom.

"I'll go fetch Christina," Hannah declared, slipping back into the practice.

"I'll help her; she needs a little extra muscle," Jack added, following Hannah's bouncing curls into the practice.

Corrie disembarked from the vehicle and stepped onto the porch of the practice, smiling at Dr. Benjamin. It seemed so strange that after everything, she would not see his familiar smile for weeks, perhaps even months. He'd become as much a staple of her life as anyone; more than a staple, he'd become a pillar upon which she could depend.