Mail Order Bride Book 2
Chapter one
I stood on the boat feeling the salt spray in my face while wondering about my decision to come here. I know that my family was not very impressed with the idea of me becoming a mail order bride. I told them that it was for security, but mostly it was to get away from their domineering ways. They were always very strict, and that limited me on how I was going to live my life with the freedom that I deserved.
“I have to tell you that I find your courage to do this admirable. I don’t think that I would be able to do it myself. We’ve talked at length and I feel like I know you almost better than I know myself. The one thing that you’re going to have to be careful with is having your heart on your sleeve. Not everything is as it appears. You have to peel away the onion one layer at a time to find the true person underneath. I’ve learned that from personal experience with David. I hope for his sake that he has something good planned for Valentines Day” I had met Loren coming back from visiting family. I wanted someone to dote on me for Valentines Day. It was possible that Grady might be that man.
“I know that I have my head in the clouds. I’ve been convincing myself that what I’m doing is the right thing. I don’t know if it is, but I want more than anything to find that love that everybody is looking for. I haven’t been able to find it back home in India. Coming across the ocean is not something I do lightly.” I held onto the railing, looking at the world changing and knowing that I was going to have to change with it. I was holding onto a tattered piece of brown luggage. It was being held together by sheer will alone.
“I hope that you find what you’re looking for, Delia. Every day is a constant struggle in the west. You have to be ready for just about anything. What he says in his letters may not be what he is in reality. Take everything that he said with a grain of salt and use your own judgment to determine if he’s the man you want to spend the rest of your life with.” She had this sophisticated air and I could tell there was a good chance that her beloved David had come from money.
“I’ve really enjoyed talking with you, Loren. I don’t know if we will ever see each other again, but I would like to stay in touch.” Apparently, she was way ahead of me. She was now scratching her mailing address on a postcard. It would be nice to have somebody to talk to, even if I wouldn’t be able to hear from her for weeks on end. She had blonde hair, and was 5’8”, maybe 120 pounds soaking wet.
The one thing that I took pride in was my appearance. I couldn’t afford much, but I made most of my own clothing with my bare hands. My mother didn’t teach me how to do it. I had been self-taught from a very early age. I really didn’t want the hand-me-downs from cousins when I could make something unique to make people stand up and take notice.
I had this need to be the center of attention. I liked colors and the fashion in my country was something that the west hadn’t seen. A red dress with a brocade of purple was what I was wearing. It was made for my figure of 5’4”, 135 pounds with chestnut brown hair that flowed freely down over my shoulders. My best features were my long legs and of course my piercing green eyes that seemed to look into a man’s very soul.
Sometimes I feel like I’m putting them at a disadvantage. They come to me with their hand out hoping that I will grace them with my presence, only to have their hopes dashed. I see the real reason behind their eyes. They think that they are being subtle, but in my mind they are not.
“I think that you and I can be fast friends. Please, let me know how everything goes with you and Grady.” She had a steamer trunk and only those that had money could afford something like that. The waves were crashing up against the hull. I actually enjoyed the sound and it wasn’t like I had much chance to see the ocean from where I had grown up. We lived in a tiny ramshackle that had to house all five kids and the parents. It made for some tense moments, but it was something that we were born into and we didn’t know any better.
I wore my heritage with pride, calling attention to the little dot on my forehead. The one thing that I noticed about Grady was that he wasn’t particularly offended by my religious upbringing. He told me that my beliefs were my own. I didn’t have to change for anyone. I hoped that he meant that, because I believed that would be a breaking point.
“I’ll be sure to get in touch once I get settled and get a lay of the land. Grady sounds like a good man, but I have not seen him, although appearances don’t mean much to me. It’s what’s in the heart that matters. His letters are heartwarming and I feel alive for the first time. Any time that I read his words of wisdom and compassion makes me smile. Don’t worry, I know that most men are after one thing.” Even now, I sense that some of the people on board are staring at me and wondering what they can do to make my dress fall to the floor.
“I want to give you something. It’s not much, but it means a lot to me that you would keep it in your possession. This was given to me by my mother on her deathbed. She told me that with it, I would find great love. I have done that and now I want it to do the same thing for you. I don’t really believe in any of this superstitious stuff, but I do believe in the results that I see with my own eyes.” Land was getting closer and those on the dock were now waving and screaming.
I scanned the crowd, looking for any one that might match the description of what Grady had sent me. There were several and I had no idea how I was going to find him in a sea of people looking for their loved ones.
I put out my hand and she placed this broach with a brocade of tiny little jewels surrounding the circumference. In the middle was this purple stone, which really did complement the dress that I was wearing.
“I don’t know if I can take this. We’ve only just met and I would hate to impose.” She placed her hand in mine and curled my fingers around the broach. She looked me in the eyes and I instinctively knew that she was dead serious. She picked up her parasol, placed it overhead and walked with a delicate grace over to the edge to look for David.
I gingerly put that broach into my suitcase. I could only hope that it didn’t fall out and get lost in translation. She was very kind, but she also was cautious. I found that she was a good judge of character and I had to think that David was a very lucky man.
I remembered how my brother Rajesh looked at me with pleading eyes to take him with me. He was too young to make the journey, but I promised him that I would call for him when things became clearer. I didn’t want to give him false hope, but the light in his eyes told me that he was going to miss me something fierce.
The boat came to a slow stop. It had been several days since we had seen land. It was a hardship, but having Loren there with me made things less uncomfortable. I found our talks made the days go quicker. There was strength in numbers. Those guys that had taken an interest in me had decided to stay at arm’s length. Without Loren, I’m sure that I would’ve had to beat them off with a stick.
I found Loren and I placed my hand on her shoulder.
“I really do appreciate everything that you’ve said. This is the kind of advice that I was hoping to get from my mother. You know she can be very opinionated. When she turned her back on me it was the worst day of my life. I think that she only did it because father made it quite clear that if I left in this way, I would be disowned.”
I’d never said anything of this to anyone. To confess my burden to Loren had taken that weight off my shoulders.
“I will always be there for you. You’re like the sister that I never had. I feel this kinship and I know in my heart that things will work out for you. This is your future and I see that you don’t go blindly into it with unreasonable expectations.”
I followed her down the gangplank, watching the people wave incessantly in hope that they would spot the one they’d came for.
Separating from Loren, I mingled amongst the people, looking at their drab clothing and pitying them for not having any sense of fashion. They were caught up with grays, whites and blacks. I must’ve stuck out like a sore thumb. I kind of enjoyed the way that people were looking at me, measuring me and trying to come up with a reasonable explanation for why I was here.
I felt somebody’s hot breath on my neck and I turned in time to see a giant of a man reaching for me. I shrugged my shoulders, showing him that his attention was not wanted.
“I’m sorry that I startled you, Delia.” The only person who knew my name was Loren. That had to mean that this handsome dark-haired gentleman was the one that I had been corresponding with all these months.
“I was hoping to make a better first impression,” he said.
I looked him up and down, seeing that he was wearing something casual. The vest was tattered and there was some kind of stain on his white shirt. It wasn’t hard to recognize the muscular frame underneath the young man standing in front of me.
“I have to say you’re not exactly what I pictured,” I replied.
I put out my hand and when he shook it, it was like this electrical jolt went through my body. He held my eyes and then placed his other hand over mine in a greeting that almost made my legs buckle out from underneath me. Did the temperature just rise? I was used to a sticky kind of heat, but this was something else entirely. His piercing blue eyes made me feel like he was no threat. He led me over to a stagecoach that was waiting nearby.
“I hope you’re ready to meet the family,” said Loren.
This was not something that we had discussed and his words hung in the air for me to absorb. I thought that he’d said he lived alone, but maybe that was one of the things he had stretched the truth on.
“I will say that you’re going to have a lot of hard work to convince them that mail order brides are the thing of the future.” I had this feeling that his romance with letters was not shared by those that he trusted. I was going to have to do some fancy footwork. This was not what I signed up for, but it wasn’t like I was just going to turn tail and go back to where I came from. They had no idea what kind of storm was coming their way, but they were going to find out.