Chapter Seven
Sep wished Angela hadn’t taken the veil with her before they headed into town, but he couldn’t blame her for it. She was self-conscious about her face. Anyone in her situation would feel the same way.
Sometimes he couldn’t understand why people put so much emphasis on how a person looked. His sister’s first husband, Harvey, had been a good-looking man. Just by looking at him, no one would guess that he was a brute. When they got married, people had commented about what a handsome couple they were. One lady, in particular, had said, “No finer pair could have been matched.” Sep just wished he had known how foolish that comment was at the time he’d overheard it.
People could not tell what kind of person someone was just by looking at them. However, since they formed opinions about others based on appearances, they dismissed a lot of people they shouldn’t. And sadly, Angela was one of them.
Besides what Sep told Angela, he didn’t know what else he could do to make her feel at ease. April and Joel would accept her the way she was, that much he knew. Other people? Well, it was hard to say what to expect from them.
But it didn’t matter. He didn’t deal with many people. So really, Angela wouldn’t be wearing the veil much anyway. Most of the time, she would be out at the farm with him.
All of these thoughts went through his head as he pulled up to the post office. He helped her out of the wagon and led her inside the small building. They found a spot away from the other patrons so she could write to her family without any interruptions. When she was almost done, she asked him if he wanted to add anything to her letter.
“I don’t know what to say,” he said.
“I’m sure they would be happy with anything. Maybe you can tell them a little about yourself.”
“Didn’t you do that?”
“Well, I told them you owned a farm and that you have a dog. But beyond that, I really don’t know anything about you yet. I think, given everything that happened, it might help set their minds at ease if you wrote something.”
Her suggestion made sense. If he had a daughter in her situation, he would want to know something about the man she had just married. He took a moment to think of what he should say. Then he took the pen she had been holding and started to write.
He told them his name and that he’d owned his own farm since he was sixteen, so he’d owned it for seven years now. He told them he had an older sister who was married to the town doctor and that they had three children with one on the way. Deciding to put their minds at ease, in case they worried he couldn’t provide for their daughter, he repeated that he was experienced in farming and did well enough to care for a family.
Then, because he hoped to reassure them that their daughter was in good hands, he continued, I have nothing but respect for women. I will be a good husband to your daughter. She is very sweet and kind. Marrying her was to my good fortune. Thank you for letting her come to Omaha.
Not knowing what else to write, he handed the missive and the pen back to her.
He hadn’t expected her to read what he’d just written, and as she did, he wondered if his words were adequate. He wasn’t a writer, by any means. In fact, the last time he’d written anything was when he was at the schoolhouse, and he hadn’t been there since he was in the eighth grade. He had no idea if his spelling and grammar were correct, and knowing that a woman who used to be a schoolteacher was reading what he’d written made him squirm a bit.
When her eyes met his, he knew she liked what he had written. He was sure she was smiling behind the veil because she said, “That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever written about me.”
Good. She didn’t think he wasn’t educated enough for her.
Before he could reply, she turned her attention back to the missive and finished writing. Once she was done, they put it in an envelope and mailed it off.
From there, they returned to the wagon and continued on their way to April’s.
“As I was writing to your parents, it occurred to me that I didn’t tell you more about my sister. She has three children at the moment. Nora is ten, and she had her with her first husband. After her first husband died, she married Joel, and they had two children together. Hannah is seven, and Levi is three. She is expecting another one in a couple of weeks.”
“Are they happy?” Angela asked.
“Yes, and sometimes it makes me nauseous to watch Joel and April kiss and hug each other.” Though, he suspected now that he had Angela, it wouldn’t bother him quite so much anymore.
“It sounds rather sweet that they do that.”
He shrugged. “Maybe it is. It is certainly better than if they didn’t get along.”
They fell into a comfortable silence, and soon, they arrived at April’s house. Before Sep had time to set the brake, Nora and Hannah were already running down the porch, calling out his name. It was then he remembered he often brought candy when he came to visit. In all the excitement in bringing Angela with him, he had forgotten all about that.
He groaned and leaned toward Angela to whisper, “I forgot to bring candy with me. I think I’m going to be in trouble.”
Angela chuckled as the girls closed in on him, already asking which kind of candy he had brought out with him.
“I’m afraid I don’t have any candy with me today,” he said as he got down from the wagon. “But I brought something that’s better. Girls, meet your new aunt. Her name is Angela.”
Though the girls seemed disappointed, that there wasn’t any candy, they went over to welcome Angela as he helped her down.
Nora stared at Angela’s veil with interest. “Are you a gypsy? My teacher said gypsies sometimes wear veils.”
Angela shook her head. “No, I’m not a gypsy. I’m just like you, except I’m from Indiana.”
This time Hannah spoke up. “Do people wear veils in Indiana?”
Uncertain as to whether or not the girl’s questions were making Angela nervous, Sep decided to interrupt them. “Angela used to be a schoolteacher. She decided to leave all that behind and come out here to be your aunt.”
“Are you excited about being our aunt?” Hannah asked.
“Yes,” Angela said. “I am. I love being around children.”
Joel bounded down the porch steps, and Sep took that as an opportunity to introduce Angela to him. “That’s my brother-in-law,” he told Angela. “He has a tendency to sigh a lot, but try not to let that bother you.”
Joel reached them, not hiding his surprise. “I didn’t realize you’re courting someone, Sep.”
“I’m not,” Sep replied. “This is my wife.”
“Wife?” Joel asked.
Nora nodded. “She’s from Indiana. I thought she was a gypsy, but she’s just a schoolteacher.”
“Used to be a schoolteacher,” Sep corrected. “She’s not one now.”
“When did you get married?” Joel asked Sep. “I didn’t even know you were interested in any of the teachers in this area.”
“Pa,” Nora began, “I just said she’s from Indiana. Weren’t you listening?”
Joel gave her an apologetic smile. “You’re right. You did.” He turned back to Sep. “So how did you get married so fast? You didn’t say anything about courting someone.”
Sep hesitated, wondering how much he should reveal in front of the children. He didn’t really want to tell Joel about Mr. Dodson and the scheme he was running while they had a young audience.
“Why don’t I tell you how I met Angela while we’re putting away the horses and the wagon?” Sep suggested. “Angela, would you mind going with Nora and Hannah into the house? We won’t be long.”
Nora reached for Angela’s hand and urged her toward the house. “Ma will want to meet you. She’s been wondering when Uncle Sep was going to finally get a wife.”
“Yep,” Hannah added. “Mama says a wife is a good thing for a man.”
Angela chuckled. “In that case, I don’t want to disappoint her by making her wait to meet me.”
“We won’t be more than ten minutes,” Sep promised Angela, hoping that she wouldn’t be too nervous without him there. Perhaps if she knew he would be with her soon, it would help calm her nerves.
Angela nodded her consent and went with the girls to the house. Sep hurried to help Joel put the horses and the wagon in the livery stable, explaining everything about Mr. Dodson and how he helped Owen save the women from having to be sold at an auction.
***
Angela followed Nora and Hannah into the house. She would rather have come in here with Sep, but since Joel was so anxious to talk to him, she figured she should give them a moment alone. She did hope, however, that they wouldn’t be outside talking for too long. She felt more comfortable when Sep was around.
“Mama, mama,” Hannah called out. “Uncle Sep found a wife!”
Despite Angela’s nervousness, she laughed. Though the girl hadn’t intended it, she made it sound as if Sep had found her off the side of the road or something.
Angela followed the girls across the parlor and ended up in the kitchen where the smell of pot roast greeted her. It reminded her of home, and for a brief moment, she missed being in Indiana. But recalling the way none of the men wanted to court her and the way everyone just took it for granted that she was always going to be the schoolteacher, that feeling quickly departed.
She didn’t miss Indiana, but she did miss her parents. It helped her to know that her parents wanted her to be happy. She had wanted a husband and children for the longest time, and knowing that, they had fully supported her when she answered the mail-order bride ad. She knew they would like Sep. He had a certain charm to him. He was down-to-earth and sincere. He wasn’t one for flowery language or for saying a lot, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was that he was a kind and decent man, and that would show up in the missive when they read it.
Nora turned to her, interrupting her thoughts. “Ma must be taking care of Levi. I bet she’s upstairs.”
“We should go up there,” Hannah said.
Nora shook her head. “Ma is busy if she’s up there. We need to wait for her to come down here.” Then she went to the pot and stirred the gravy. “I help Ma when she cooks.”
Noting the pride in the girl’s voice, Angela replied, “I think that’s wonderful.”
“I help Mama, too,” Hannah spoke up.
“And that’s wonderful, Hannah,” Angela added. It was cute that the younger sister wanted to feel important. It reminded her of her own younger sisters.
“Nora, Hannah, did you say Uncle Sep was here?” a woman asked from the other room.
Nora set the spoon back on the counter and yelled out, “Yes, Ma. And he brought a wife with him.”
“A wife?” The woman appeared in the doorway, holding her three-year-old son in her arms.
As soon as April saw her, Angela offered her a wave. “Sep just married me last night,” Angela explained.
Before April could respond, the boy in her arms started crying. April’s attention went to the boy, and she tried to sit with him. But it did no good. He kept staring at Angela and crying. It took Angela a moment to realize that the veil scared him. He probably had never seen anyone wearing a veil before. She was sure if she was his age, the sight would scare her, too. And this left her with a dilemma she hadn’t expected to face. Did she keep the thing on and hope he would settle down, or did she remove it and frighten him even more with her scars?
“It’s alright, Levi,” April told her son as she bounced him in her arms. “That’s just your uncle’s wife. She’s your aunt…” She looked at Angela. “I’m sorry. I didn’t catch your name.”
“That’s because we didn’t tell you what her name is,” Nora explained, taking on the same tone a teacher would use with a student when she was bringing up a new topic.
Once more, Angela felt the urge to chuckle, and in doing so, she felt herself relax a little bit. “They didn’t have time to warn you about me. Sep rescued me last night from some unsavory men, and since I had nowhere to go, he married me.”
“He did?” April asked, looking pleased with her brother.
Angela nodded. She got ready to tell April more details, but she really couldn’t over Levi’s crying. Everyone else was too polite to ask her to take off the veil. It was going to be up to her to do it.
“I should warn you,” Angela began, “I have some scars on my face. It’s why I’m wearing this thing.” She gestured to the veil. “I don’t want to scare him by showing him the scars, but since he is scared anyway, I don’t think I have a choice.”
As she started to remove the veil, Nora asked, “How did you get the scars?”
“I was in a fire when I was a child,” Angela replied as she slowly removed it.
Bracing herself for their reactions, especially Levi’s, she lowered the veil so that everyone could see her face.
“Where are they?” Hannah asked.
Realizing Hannah was on her left side, Angela turned so Hannah could see her right cheek. “They are right here.”
Nora hurried over to her right side and took a good look at her face. “That is not scary.”
Surprised, Angela turned to face Levi. He took a good look at her, and after a moment, he stopped crying. What a curious reaction. Back in Indiana, the children were used to seeing her scars, so Angela had just taken it for granted that other children would find them repulsive. But now, she was pleasantly aware these children were much more accepting of her scars than adults were.
“Did you suffer any other injuries from the fire?” April asked.
“No,” Angela replied. “Thankfully, the scars were the extent of my injuries.”
“That’s good to hear,” April said. “I’ve heard of fires doing a lot more damage to people than giving them a few scars.”
“I think you’re pretty, even with the scars,” Nora said. “You don’t have to wear a veil.”
“Nora’s right,” April added. “Though, being a grown woman, I can understand why you’re concerned about it. I just want you to know that it’s alright with us if you don’t wear the veil. We think there’s nothing wrong with you.”
At first, Angela couldn’t believe what she was hearing. So she stayed there for a moment, not saying or doing anything. But when she realized they were all being sincere—that when they looked at her, they didn’t see the scars, that they saw her as she really was—she felt much better about everything. She didn’t have to wear a veil. Just like Sep, they had accepted her.
“Thank you,” Angela said. “You have no idea how nice it is to be accepted as I am. Most people focus on the scars so much that they don’t take the time to see me.”
“It’s a shame they don’t,” April replied. “But I understand. Most people don’t look past a person’s imperfections.” She looked at her son who was still quiet. “Now that he’s calm, we should get to know something about each other. My name is April.”
“I’m Angela.”
“I would love to hear more about you and Sep. Do you mind telling me how you two met?”
More than happy to oblige her, Angela told April the entire story as she helped April get supper ready.