Love's unfolding dream (Love Comes Softly Series #6) (11 page)

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up the stairs. Soon the bedroom floor was covered with young bodies poring over all the exciting books. John was given the book about horses and the others were allowed to choose ones of interest to them.

"Boy!" said Silas. "How'd ya git ya so many? It's even more'n we have at our school."

"They've all been given to me," explained Melissa as she gently caressed the cover of one of her treasures.

Never had the household been so quiet on a Sunday when all the Davis family members were gathered together at home. Soon this little fellow or that began to coax for a book to be read aloud, and one after the other Melissa read some of the shorter ones. All eyes were on her face, all ears attentive to the reading.

Downstairs the adults interrupted their conversation to wonder where all of the children had gone.

"With this much peace an' quiet, they're all either asleep or in a heap of trouble!" Luke declared from his comfortable position on the davenport.

Kate eventually climbed the stairs to peek into Belinda's room. There she saw arms and legs crisscrossed over the rug- covered wooden floor as children listened in fascination to the voice of Melissa. Kate stood and stared in disbelief before she tiptoed back down the stairs.

"Yer never gonna believe what I jest saw," she informed the others. "The whole passel of 'em, all in Belinda's room, listenin' as quiet as can be whilst Melissa is readin' to 'em."

"You're kidding," stated Luke.

"Cross my heart," Kate insisted. "The whole bunch of 'em-- jest spellbound."

"We shoulda brought thet there little gal out here years ago," Clare said loudly. "Jest think of the gray hairs it woulda saved." The others laughed.

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Marty could not resist quietly going up to see for herself. Just as Kate had said--there they all were, sprawled on the bed or on rugs and pillows across the floor of Belinda's room, all eyes fixed on Melissa. No one even stirred as Marty peeked around the door.

Well, I declare,
she said to herself.
If that don't beat all.

She went back down the stairs to assure the rest that Kate had not been fooling.

"Never seen nothin' like it," she stated. "Every last one of 'em. Quiet as you please."

"Guess she'll make her a schoolteacher, all right," said Arnie. "Anyone who can keep my three rascals quiet can handle 'bout anything."

"Sure didn't take her long to get acquainted," put in Luke.

"She already shared one of her books with Amy Jo," Kate told them. "I've never seen the girl so excited. Been copyin' it, she has. Tries to draw every picture. Some of 'em are kinda hard, too, but Amy Jo does a fair job of 'em, iffen I do say so." She paused to gaze reflectively out the window. "She sure has been eager to git to 'em. Never argues 'bout her chores now, 'cause she knows thet she is free to draw jest as soon as they are done."

Marty's eyes filled with tears. "It sure is nice to have Melissa here," she said softly. "Missie's gonna miss 'er. She's the sweetest thing ya ever saw"

Clare nodded in agreement. "She's sweet, thet's fer sure--but let's not put the burden of perfection on 'er."

Marty looked at Clare in surprise.

"Meanin'?"

"Well, she's human after all, Ma. Let's leave her some room to make some mistakes--have some flaws. She's gonna find plenty of 'em in us, her kin. Reckon we ought to allow her a few, as well."

Marty reflected on that for a while. Clare was right. Melissa

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was bound to have
some
weaknesses. They just hadn't seen them yet. Well, whatever they were, Marty would still love her, she decided. But even as Marty assured herself of that, she couldn't imagine anything that could possibly be wrong with Missie's little girl.

In spite of the rather rocky beginning during their drive home from the station, Marty was very happy at how well the three girls seemed to be adjusting to one another. There were times when two of them were together when the third girl was not included, but it was not a case of two shutting the other out. When the third girl arrived on the scene, she was always warmly welcomed to become part of the little group. There was no gossiping or vying for position or attention that Marty could see, and she thanked the Lord for that.

All three had their own unique personalities. Amy Jo, vibrant, alive, and artistic in nature, was apt to act and react spontaneously and sometimes to regret it later. She was quick to speak her mind, but quick to initiate a restoration of the relationship if she felt she had done or said something out of line.

Belinda had always been warm and compassionate. She felt it deeply if someone hurt her or was hurt. She was slow to become upset and quick to offer her aid. She loved to share and give. At times her loving nature brought her pain, and she suffered deeply with the suffering of another. But Belinda did not find it as easy to put aside words spoken in the heat of the moment. Often, the impetuous and careless barbs of Amy Jo could cause Belinda grief for days. She forgave, but it was difficult for her to get over the memory of her pain, and it affected her appetite, her rest, and her very being.

Melissa was somewhere in between the two. She loved to be with people and to share in their experiences. She was open and

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caring without taking charge, as Amy Jo was wont to do. Melissa was a communicator, though she chose her words with more care and consideration of the other person's feelings than Amy Jo, and her words never seemed to be used as a weapon. Melissa spent very little of her time alone, whereas Belinda could entertain herself with her own thoughts and company for hours on end. Amy Jo liked people if she was in the right mood.

And so the three girls interacted with one another, learning and growing from their friendship. Marty felt the experience would benefit all three of them.

All three went to town with Marty on the day Melissa was to choose her room colors and fabrics. From her previous experience, Marty wondered at the wisdom of taking three girls to choose for one room, but Amy Jo and Belinda wanted to be a part of it, and Melissa begged for them to be included. Clark smiled encouragingly at Marty as he handed her the reins for the team. She was sure he understood her misgivings.

The girls had worked themselves up to a feverish pitch at the thought of their trip to town. Amy Jo this time was doing most of the high-spirited chattering.

"I already found the most beautiful print," she was informing Melissa. "You'll jest love it--I know ya will."

"Oh, Amy Jo," admonished Belinda. "Remember, Melissa gits to choose for herself. We aren't gonna tell her what she should git."

"I won't tell her," replied Amy Jo rather hotly with a toss of her red-brown braids, "but that doesn't mean I shouldn't even show her the pretty piece we found before."

"Sure you can show me," offered Melissa. "And you can show me your choice, too, Belinda."

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"I haven't chosen one," said Belinda. "Ma and I decided thet you should choose."

"And I will," Melissa said excitedly. "I can hardly wait. I wrote Mother and Father all about it."

"I jest bet you'll love the colored print. It is so . . . so . . .
vibrant!"
exclaimed Amy Jo. "Vibrant" was a new word she had found in one of Melissa's art books, and she loved it. The family would hear the word over and over during the next few months.

"Maybe Melissa doesn't like 'vibrant," Belinda said softly.

"Oh, Lindy," Amy Jo responded impatiently. "Do you think she's a child? She'll say if she likes it or not."

Marty feared a quarrel was about to commence.

"I think we'll go to the hardware store first an' pick out the wallpaper," she hurried to inform the girls, snapping the reins over the horses' backs. "Then we'll go look at the yard goods."

Her little plan for diverting an argument did not work. Amy Jo began to suggest a "good choice" for Melissa's walls. Belinda frowned, and Marty felt she had to move the conversation onto other ground entirely.

"Jest up ahead there is the school, Melissa," she announced, pointing to a white building set back in some trees. "Would ya like to stop an' peek in the winda? The door will likely be bolted, but we should be able to git us a bit of a look-see."

It worked, at least temporarily. The girls were soon excitedly talking about school. Marty sighed with relief and urged the team on a little faster. They would stop briefly at the schoolhouse, but then there was still a long road into town. Could she manage to keep the conversation even and controlled?

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TEN

School

It was a weary Marty who turned the team back over to Clark when they arrived home. His eyes questioned her as he helped her down over the wheel, but he asked nothing aloud.

"Later," she whispered to him, and he nodded.

The three girls were gathering parcels and carrying them into the house.

"When will you do the wallpaperin'?" Amy Jo was asking. "I'll help?"

"Grandpa will be doin' it," Marty called out as the three moved through the door. "I think he'll ask Clare if he needs 'im any help."

"Aw," groaned Amy Jo over her shoulder. "It woulda been fun iffen we three coulda did it."

"Done it," corrected Melissa evenly, no scolding in her voice.

"Grandpa will do the wallpaperin' tomorra," Marty went on as she joined them in the kitchen. There was no way she would be talked into allowing three young girls--at least these three-- the opportunity of messing around in the wallpaper paste.

"What 'bout the curtains?" continued Amy Jo, her freckled face crinkled in disappointment.

"I'll sew up the curtains an' spread," answered Marty "Then we don't git to do nothin'," argued Amy Jo. "You did the choosin'," Marty reminded her.

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And what a job that was!
she could have added. Belinda, though she had said very little, liked the soft pastel prints. Amy Jo had argued vociferously for the "vibrant" colors. Melissa had held her ground and picked a blue-and-white gingham. And her walls would have tiny blue flowers in vertical rows on a white background. For accents around the room she chose some bright blue for toss cushions, tie-backs, and bows for trimmings.

It wasn't what Marty would have selected. An all blue-andwhite room seemed a little boring to her. But Marty did not try to sway Melissa. They had promised her own choice, and Marty intended to keep her word.

"I'll do the kitchen work while you sew," offered Melissa, and Marty nodded her appreciation.

"I still wish we could do some work on the room," grumbled Amy Jo.

"Ya can:' said Marty with a tired sigh. "When yer Grandpa's done his paperin', ya can scrub the floor an' move back the furniture."

At Amy Jo's look of disgust, Marty added, "Maybe Melissa will let ya help arrange the furniture a new way," but Amy Jo was not to be cheered up so easily. Her disagreeable attitude quickly changed to one of defeat when Marty held her ground with an even and determined look of her own. From long experience Amy Jo knew when her grandmother was serious--it would be the girls' job to clean the room and move Melissa in after it had been redone.

"Course we will," Belinda was saying. "That will be fun. We can put everything jest where Melissa wants it."

Marty watched Amy Jo as she looked around, her expression moving from
there's nothing for it but to cooperate
to
it might be a little fun at that.

Marty sighed, then smiled and shook her head.

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The room was papered, the curtains and spread made, and the little pillows stuffed with soft, old material. The girls began their housecleaning as Marty finished off the last of the sewing.

Melissa set up the ironing board and carefully ironed the new curtains, ruffle by ruffle. Belinda scrubbed the floor, and Amy Jo dusted the furniture but mostly fluttered about giving orders and excitedly exclaiming over everything.

The bed and dresser were moved back into the room with the help of Clare, who had come to see how the job was progressing. He said some nice things about its appearance and left the three girls to do the arranging. They all agreed, much to Marty's relief, that the bed should be under the window, the new curtains framing its head. The dresser fit nicely on the north wall, and the desk Clark was working on would stand in the corner near the door with the bookshelves.

By the end of the week the new room had its new occupant. Belinda told her mother that she really didn't want Melissa to move, but they were just across the hall from each other, and she knew it really was nicer for them each to have their own room. She did like her times alone and would soon have wearied of constant company, she said.

When it was all done, Marty had to admit that Melissa had chosen well. The gingham curtains and the bright splashes of blue went nicely with the light-patterned wallpaper. The shelves of books also added to the cheeriness and hominess of the room, and with the bright scatter rugs on the floor the room looked inviting and warm, as well as light and airy.

Marty sighed wearily as she retired that Saturday night. She was glad they had allowed Melissa the privilege of picking her own colors. She was also glad that the process did not need to be repeated in the near future. It had been tiring having the three girls excitedly rushing about the house, continually asking about her sewing progress. And though they had willingly worked in