Waiting for Dusk (14 page)

They walked up to a large staircase leading
to a beautiful front porch that swept across the front of the
house. There were six large, white columns two stories high around
the front door. The pillars went straight up and connected to a
large piece of roof that jutted out over the front porch. Below
that overhang were ornate French doors that led out to a beautiful
second floor balcony. Those doors flew open and Lucinda rushed out.
“Oh, good, you are all here. I’ll be right down.”

So that’s what those balconies are used for.
To announce you’ll be right down. So useful! Katie thought
sarcastically. She giggled, amused by her own humor.

The door was opened by a maid from the way
she was dressed. Her outfit was very close to Katie’s Harvey girl
uniform–black dress, white apron, and black stockings. Lucinda was
still coming down the stairs and what a staircase it was! It curved
around from the second floor down to the first. The banister was
polished gleaming redwood with white painted spindles.

“Thank you, Frieda. I’ll take my friends to
the dining hall.” Lucinda spoke sweetly to her.

Then Katie saw Mr. Carl kiss Frieda on the
cheek. Katie gave Lucinda a questioning look.

“That’s his younger sister. Carl asked the
Hastings if Frieda could work for them. She didn’t speak much
English at the time. She came from Sweden last year. She traveled
all the way from New York City—after landing at Ellis Island—to
Arizona to be with him. It’s been quite a change for her. We all
try to help her as much as we can. Mother Hasting helps her by
giving her English lessons.”

As Katie walked through the house, she
couldn’t believe the size of it. The floors were hardwood with a
glimmering reddish tone. Beautiful Persian rugs were in each room
and the colors matched each room perfectly. They walked down the
hallway on Persian rug runners. Katie couldn’t stop looking around,
trying to peek in all the rooms. As they entered the dining room,
Mr. Hasting, Henry’s father, poured champagne into tall crystal
flutes. A huge buffet was being set up on a long table by more
servants.

Henry went up to Lucinda. “I’m glad everyone
is here now and we can get underway.” He looked around. “Well...it
seems everyone is here except for Gilbert and his wife.” He raised
his eyebrows. He turned to Katie and said, “Arlene is notorious for
being late.”

“I’ll go get them, Henry. You keep everyone
entertained.” Lucinda grabbed Katie’s hand and took her along.

They walked back to the front of the house
and then turned right, continuing through a short hallway with
floor to ceiling glass windows. It led to another whole living
area. “Gil, Arlene, are you two ready? We’re all waiting,” Lucinda
called out in the empty room.

That part of the house was decorated much
differently from the rest being more modern and sleek in design.
Lucinda took Katie’s hand and had her sit down on the sofa with
her.

“This is Gilbert and Arlene’s house. They
have their own separate living quarters, even though this wing is
attached right to the main house. Did you see the builders when you
came in? They’re adding on to the other side of the house for Henry
and me. I can decorate any way I want. Isn’t that wonderful?”
Lucinda looked off into the distance, as if she envisioned the new
place.

Katie thought Lucinda looked especially
beautiful that night. She was wearing a fashionable soft, flowing
floral blouse and skirt with gold jewelry. Her fine hair seemed to
have bleached out to almost blonde. Katie touched Lucinda’s hair
lightly.

“Oh, this, can you believe it? The Arizona
sun has given me a new look. I’ve been riding and learning all I
can about the ranch. I intend to help with it, Kathryn. I’m not
just going to sit in this big house and sip lemonade and sew. Not
me.”

Katie believed her. She also thought it would
be the perfect time to bring up the marriage and thought she’d
start off with something not too controversial.

“Lucinda, do you know Andrew Martin?”

“Yes, I do. He’s invited to the wedding. I
did that for you,” Lucinda teased.

“You know, too?” Katie hit her forehead.

“We all have eyes at the restaurant. We could
see he’s in love with you, and you with him.”

“Love?” Katie had to think about that. Yes,
she was in love with Drew. She fought it as hard as she could, but
she knew it was true. “Since I don’t have to explain the situation
to you, as you already know about it, I can get to the point.
Remember when you told me about passion? I felt...feel it...with
Andrew. I just want to make sure you’re doing the right thing in
marrying Henry when you don’t feel the passion.”

A tear fell from Lucinda’s eye. “I am so
happy for you, Kathryn. I know I told you about passion in a weak
moment. I also told you that Henry is a good man who loves me. It
will all be fine in the end.”

Katie still wanted her aunt to think about
what she was doing before it was too late. Maybe she could fix all
of it. Maybe Lucinda could go on to have a happy life with someone
else, someone she truly loved. “Lucinda, you know you don’t have to
...”

“There you two are. We thought you got lost,”
a familiar voice said from the connecting hallway. Katie turned and
saw Mrs. Johansson. “Lucinda, why don’t you go see what’s taking
Miss Arlene so long? And Kathryn, you come back to the dining hall
with me.”

Both girls did as they were told. Mrs.
Johansson put her arm around Katie. “You need to leave well enough
alone. Didn’t I tell you what will be, will be?” She pulled Katie
closer and hugged her. “It will all work out.”

The afternoon was filled with food, drink and
laughter. Katie learned that Gil was Henry’s oldest brother, and
Clifford was the middle brother. Cliff was not married. He would be
her partner in the wedding. The wedding would take place outside.
They would exit from the house through the backdoor, and down the
stairs into the garden. From there it was a walk up the garden path
to the gazebo at the end of the garden. Katie stood on the back
porch and looked around at the beauty of the garden. It was not a
formal garden or very large for that matter. It was more natural.
She wasn’t a flower expert, but Drew had pointed out some of the
native flowers on their walks and she recognized the desert
marigold, aster, sunflower, paperflower shrub, morning glories,
four o’clocks and evening primrose. The colors were all whites,
yellows and purples.

The instructions to the bridal party
continued throughout the afternoon. The bridesmaids and groomsmen
would stand outside the gazebo, and Lucinda and Henry would walk up
the steps where the minister would be waiting. A large white tent
was set up in the backyard. Inside chairs were set up for the
guests so they would be protected from the sun. The sides of the
tent entrance were pulled back and tied open with sapphire blue
ribbon. It was like a fairytale.

There I go thinking of fairytales again,
Katie thought. She just couldn’t think of one specific story that
matched the scene.

Dusk set in. Katie began to panic. What if
she did not wake up here? What if she ended up in her bed back at
Maya’s house in the present? It could be over in an instant.

“Are you okay, Kathryn?” Loretta’s hand
touched hers.

“It’s starting to get dark. I think we should
be heading back.”

“Oh, we’re staying here for the night. Didn’t
anyone tell you?” Loretta seemed relieved. “Plus indoor plumbing,”
she laughed.

Katie pretended to laugh with her. It had
been quite a day but she was worried about getting through the
night.

They were all shown to their rooms. Katie was
impressed there were enough rooms for everyone. Her bathroom was
across the hall from her bedroom. Mrs. Johansson had packed her
bags which meant that she could have seen the book in her
boardinghouse dresser drawer. Katie dug around in the bag. No book.
She prayed it was safely back in the drawer where she put it. After
she was ready, Katie slid into the huge, oversized bed. There was
no time to worry or think about anything because before she knew
it, she was asleep.

* * * *

The next morning, Katie woke to voices in the
hallway, and someone knocked on the door. “Kathryn? Are you awake?
We have to get ready.”

Katie looked around and realized she was
still at the Hasting house. She threw off the covers, jumped out of
the bed and twirled around the room. She was thrilled to still be
there.

There was a knock again at her door. This
time it was Frieda. She had breakfast on a tray.

“Thank you, Frieda.” Katie wanted to say more
but was afraid Frieda wouldn’t understand her. She just watched as
the girl put the tray on a corner table.

“Du är välkomen,” Frieda said softly and left
the room. Katie assumed she said ‘You’re welcome’.

She ate her breakfast slowly. She did not
want this day to go too quickly but it didn’t seem to be the case.
Again, there was a light tap at her door.

“I thought I would help you get ready. I have
your dress.” It was Mrs. Johansson’s voice. Katie opened the door
and motioned for her to come in. “Loretta will do your hair. She’ll
be here in a minute.”

Before Katie knew it, she was in her sapphire
blue dress, had her hair done and curled, pearl choker clipped on
and headband in place. They all had their makeup done by someone
who came to the ranch for that specific purpose.

“How could you not love this life?” Katie
said to no one in particular.

Then it was time. The girls all assembled in
the upstairs hall. Katie looked for Anna, but she was nowhere to be
seen. She figured Anna must have gone down to get a seat. Molly and
Ruthie fussed over Lucinda. They were going to help carry the train
of her dress and get it placed correctly for the walk down the
aisle. Mr. and Mrs. Johansson came out of their room. Mr. Johansson
wore a white suit, and Mrs. Johansson fixed his tie. She then
turned and kissed Lucinda. “I’ll see you downstairs.”

All that was left was the wedding party,
Molly, Ruthie and Mr. Johansson.

“Go ahead.” Lucinda took a deep breath, and
motioned for Katie and Loretta to head down the stairs. The rest of
the party then followed.

When Katie and Loretta got to the bottom of
the stairs, the front door flew open. They heard laughing and
someone say, “I hope I’m not too late.” In walked Anna and
following right behind her was Daniel.

Everyone stopped right where they were, as if
frozen in time.

Chapter Eighteen

Lucinda was still on
the staircase. Katie thought she heard a gasp come from her. Anna
looked up and their eyes meet. Lucinda’s eyes seemed to burn right
through Anna. Anna’s were apologetic.

Daniel broke the ice. “Good to see you,
Lucinda. Best wishes on your wedding day. I’m sorry for intruding
last minute. I just got in last night. Took me longer to clean up
for your wedding than I thought!” he smiled sheepishly.

Lucinda continued staring. Anna turned to
Daniel, grabbed his hand and said, “We best get a seat, looks like
the wedding is about to start.”

When Katie finally gained her composure, she
turned to look at Lucinda again and saw her sitting on the stair
with a blank look on her face. Mr. Johansson tried to help her up
but she held her hand up as a signal for him to wait. Then she
stood up, smoothed out her skirt, and continued on down the stairs
as if nothing was wrong.

Katie heard music drifting in through the
back door. As they continued down the hallway, she saw Henry, Gil
and Cliff all standing to the side of the gazebo.

Katie was first. It helped that she couldn’t
really see the people in the tent as she walked down the path. A
hand went up in the sea of people sitting out there, as Katie
rounded the gazebo. She had to laugh as Drew continued to wave.
Loretta came next and stood closer to the steps of the gazebo. Then
Mr. Johansson and Lucinda came around and stopped in front of the
stairs. Henry walked up to the couple and stood on the other side
of Lucinda. She handed her flowers to Loretta, then Henry and
Lucinda walked up the two steps to the minister. Everything was
just as lovely as planned. There was a brilliant blue sky and white
puffy clouds. The white tent shone in the afternoon sun. The gazebo
was laced with white orange blossoms and roses.

Too perfect, Katie thought, and not like a
fairytale at all.

The ceremony was short, Lucinda promised to
love, honor and obey like many brides do and Henry beamed as he
placed the ring on her finger. They had a quick kiss at the
conclusion of the service and Henry held two fists up, shaking them
like he just won first prize. Tears filled Katie’s eyes as she
watched her aunt’s wedding first hand. The feeling was
indescribable.

Afterward, everyone headed for the house. The
wedding party stood on the large back porch, greeting guests as
they headed inside. A late afternoon supper was served in the
dining hall. The tent was cleared out so a wooden floor could be
installed for dancing later in the evening. Katie’s head spun from
all the new people she met. Finally some friendly faces reached
her.

“Kate, this is Daniel,” Drew introduced her
to his friend.

“I have heard so much about you.” Katie shook
his hand.

“And I, you, lovely Kate. Andrew, you didn’t
do her justice.” Daniel slapped his friend on the back.

Anna hugged Katie and whispered in her ear,
“I’m so happy. Is Lucinda alright?”

Katie nodded. “She seems to be. Plus she went
through with the wedding, didn’t she?”

“We’ll see you inside.” Drew lightly squeezed
her arm.

The wedding party sat at a long table in the
front of the dining hall. There were round tables of eight
scattered around the rest of the massive room. Servers circulated
the room with plates of food, pitchers of lemonade and water plus
bottles of wine. It was all very festive.