Sugar and Spice, page 10
“Great, just great.” What else could happen? Just before his shift ended, a badly tied-up barrel had fallen from the mast of the Eastern Sun, bursting its contents, which happened to be molasses, all over the deck. And naturally he had to help with the cleanup. The jeweler had been locking up when Jimmy arrived and it had taken ten minutes to talk the man into letting him purchase a ring. Only when Jimmy had pulled out his money did the store owner relent and let him in.
Jimmy drew in a deep breath and let it out with a huff. He pulled the little blue box from his vest pocket and looked at it again. Would Cici like it? Was the stone big enough? He’d had a little money saved up. But when he’d glanced over the rings and seen the prices, he’d almost walked out. He’d finally chosen one he thought she’d like that hadn’t been too much more than he’d planned to spend. Now that he examined it more closely, he wasn’t sure. It was the new Edwardian style with a platinum band. He sighed and put it back in his pocket. He never would find out, if the rain didn’t stop. He’d thought of making a run for it, but he’d be soaked before he got to the streetcar line. Maybe he’d better call Cici and tell her he couldn’t make it.
“Jimmy, why are you standing in the dark?” Blake turned on the gas lamp on the wall by the door. “I thought you’d already left.”
Jimmy shook his head. “In this downpour? I’d be half drowned before I got half a block.”
“You can take the carriage. I’ve told you before to feel free to use it anytime Danielle doesn’t need it.”
“Maybe I’ll wait until it slacks up and take the umbrella.” Jimmy preferred the more modern style of transportation. It freed him from making arrangements for the horse. And Blake sure hadn’t offered his automobile. Probably afraid Jimmy would wreck it on the slippery streets.
“Okay, I offered.” Blake sighed and shook his head. “Oh, all right. Take the Runabout.”
Jimmy grinned and looked out the window. “Nah, it’s letting up. I think I’ll make a run for the streetcar. See you later.”
He grabbed his umbrella from the stand in the foyer and took off down the street. He’d only been waiting a couple of minutes when the streetcar arrived. Maybe his luck was turning. Or. . .maybe God had something to do with it. Uneasiness churned in his stomach as he climbed aboard the public conveyance. He hadn’t been spending much time with God. It wasn’t that he was turning away from Him or anything like that. He’d just been busy. Too busy to spend an hour or even a few minutes with God? He hadn’t had his Bible open all week except at church. He pushed the thought aside and took a seat in the empty car. Apparently he was the only one crazy enough to come out in this weather.
By the time he got off near the parsonage, the rain had increased again, so Jimmy opened his umbrella and ran down the sidewalk in the deluge.
Cici’s eyes widened as she opened the door for him. “Jimmy, I didn’t think you’d come.”
“I told you I’d be here.” He grinned, shook the umbrella, and propped it up by the door, then wiped his feet on the mat.
“Well, get in here. You look like a drowned cat.” She giggled and pulled him inside, shutting the door behind him.
“I don’t know, Cici. Maybe I should stay on the porch. Your mother might not be too happy with my dripping all over the place.” He grinned. “Besides, I need to speak to you privately.”
“Oh, all right.” She smiled then called out, “Mother, I’m sitting on the porch with Jimmy.”
Mrs. Willow stepped from the parlor. “Oh my. Perhaps Jimmy should come in the kitchen and get dried off.”
“I’m fine, ma’am. I’ll just get soaked again in a few minutes when I leave.”
“Well, my goodness, young man. Why did you come out in this weather if you’re only staying a few minutes?”
“Mama. . .” Cici threw her mother a pleading look.
“I’d best return to my knitting. I’m making socks for the children in the tenements.”
“That’s nice, Mrs. Willow. I’m sure they’ll be appreciated.”
When they were finally seated on the porch swing, Jimmy leaned back and took her hand. She smiled up at him.
“Cici, honey, you must know that I love you.” He laid his hand on her cheek. “And I pray you have feelings for me as well.”
A pink blush kissed her cheeks. She ducked her head then looked straight up at him. “I love you, too, Jimmy.”
Joy filled his heart and he slipped out of the swing and onto one knee. He ran his tongue over his suddenly dry lips and took a deep breath. “Will you marry me?”
Cici gasped. With her eyes wide and bright with tears, she flung her arms around his neck. “Oh yes, Jimmy. I want to be your wife more than anything in the world.”
His hands trembled as he put the ring on her finger. Then he sat beside her and took her into his arms.
“It’s beautiful. The most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen.” Cici held her hand out and admired the ring. “Jimmy, it’s a diamond.”
He grinned. “Diamonds are all the style for engagement rings now. Are you sure you like it? I can exchange it for one with a different stone if you’d rather.”
She covered the ring with her other hand as if to protect it. “I’ll never part with this ring as long as I live.” Her upturned lips were too much to resist.
“You are precious.” Jimmy kissed softly at first, then deepened the kiss until she drew back, trembling.
Jimmy barely noticed his damp clothing as the hours passed and they declared their love for each other over and over again. It was nearly midnight when he arrived home. He climbed the stairs, reliving the evening, examining every word, every kiss. Yes, he’d done the right thing. He had the most precious fiancée who ever lived and no one had ever loved the way they did.
But as he got ready for bed, the thought he’d kept at bay finally forced its way into his mind. What would she say if she knew he hadn’t yet made arrangements to return to school?
❧
Silver tinkled against twinkling crystal. Soft candlelight bathed the white tablecloth and red napkins with a romantic ambience, perfect for this night.
Cici blushed and bit her lip as Jimmy sent her an adoring smile across the table. “Jimmy, don’t look at me like that. People will notice.” Her whispered words didn’t reflect the delight that coursed through her being.
“Well, I guess I don’t care if you don’t.” He grinned and reached across the table, taking her hand. He ran his thumb across the diamond, which appeared enormous to Cici as it winked in the candlelight.
“Behave yourself.” She slipped her hand from his and darted a glance around the room.
“There, you see? No one is paying the least bit of attention.”
He was right. They could have been on an island for all the attention they were getting. Even the waiter seemed to know they wanted solitude and only appeared when it was time for another course of the excellent meal or to refill their water glasses.
When the last delicious bite was eaten, they lingered over their tea until finally Jimmy rose. “We’d better be getting to the theater. We don’t want to miss the opening act.”
Cici’s heart thumped hard against her rib cage. When she’d suggested to Jimmy that they go to see the new musical comedy, it had seemed like a great adventure. After all, she’d never been to the theater. But as they walked into the luxurious, sparkling lobby, she swallowed past a lump and darted a glance around. What if some of her parents’ friends should see her? Of course they wouldn’t have any right to talk if they were here. But what if someone mentioned seeing her here to her parents, just in passing? Her father and mother never judged others for theatergoing, but her father often said a minister and his family must be above reproach.
“Honey, what are you so nervous about?” Jimmy squeezed her elbow and she drew closer to him and smiled.
“I’m not nervous. Just looking around. This is my first time at a play.”
“Really? If I’d known that, we could have come sooner.”
How was she going to get it across to him not to mention this to her parents? What would he think of her when he found out she was going against her father’s wishes? But she was an adult. Soon to be an attorney’s wife. She needed to learn how to conduct herself in society.
“Perhaps we should have invited your parents to join us.”
Cici drew her breath in sharply then calmed herself. “Yes, that would have been very nice. Perhaps another time.” She sank into the luxurious seat. How could anything be so superbly comfortable? Red velvet curtains hung from some secret place near the vast ceiling. Golden cords hung down on each side. Surely this must be dreamland.
The theater filled up to capacity and the lights went off.
Cici sat mesmerized as the curtains rose on a bright, colorful kingdom where not only birds sang their songs to one another, but people did, too.
During intermission, Jimmy excused himself for a moment, but Cici sat glued to her chair, afraid of missing even one magical moment.
A young woman in a frilly blue dress stepped out on the stage and sang a song while waiting for the crowd to return.
When Jimmy returned to his seat, Cici clutched his arm and smiled.
“Enjoying your first show, sweetheart?” He squeezed her hand.
“Oh yes. It’s wonderful and amazing. I can’t imagine why. . .” She stopped herself before giving her secret away. But why did her parents think the theater was inappropriate?
When the curtain came down after the final act, Cici applauded with everyone else and then followed Jimmy down the aisle, almost in a daze. She blinked in the bright electric lights of the chandelier in the lobby.
Jimmy guided her through the crowd toward the door then suddenly stopped, almost jerking Cici to a halt.
She gasped as she saw Sutton facing them.
He swept an amused glance in her direction then turned his attention to Jimmy. “Well, Jimmy, my boy, it’s been a long time.” He pressed his lips together and nodded. “Much too long. It’s always good to see one of my children.”
Cici gazed at Jimmy in wonder. A muscle by his mouth jumped as he stared at Sutton in stony silence.
“Tell me, Jimmy”—Sutton’s eyes burned and Cici could see fury in their depths—“how is the lovely Danielle? Please give her my love and tell her I’ll be seeing you both very soon.”
Jimmy clutched Cici’s arm and pushed past him. His breath came in ragged bursts, his face tense with anger. Silently, he hailed a carriage and held the door for Cici.
She climbed in, not speaking until he was seated beside her. “Jimmy, what’s wrong? Did you know that man?” Of course Jimmy knew him. Sutton had called him and Danielle by name.
Jimmy inhaled deeply and turned to her. He smiled. “Don’t worry about him. He’s a very unpleasant person whom I hope you never have to see again.”
Unpleasant? She wouldn’t call Sutton unpleasant. He’d always been very gracious to her. But of course, Jimmy mustn’t know she was acquainted with a man he was obviously at enmity with. She waited, hoping he would reveal how he knew Sutton. Why had the man called Jimmy one of his children?
“I hope you enjoyed the evening, sweetheart. I’m sorry if the last incident hindered your enjoyment in any way.”
“No, no. Not at all.” She hesitated, not sure how to broach the subject of her parents. “Jimmy, I wonder if you would mind not mentioning that we went to the theater. To Mama and Papa, I mean.”
Astonishment crossed his face. “What? Why ever not?”
Heat filled her face. “It’s just that, you see, they wouldn’t approve of my going.”
A sick look crossed his face.
Cici felt tears surfacing. Oh no. He would hate her now.
“Cici—” His voice broke. “Why didn’t you tell me? Or for that matter, why.” He stopped, but disappointment clouded his eyes.
“I’m sorry, Jimmy. But I wanted to see a show so badly. I know it was wrong to go against my parents’ wishes.”
He slipped his arm around her and kissed the top of her head. “Well, what’s done is done. I love you, sweetheart.”
“I love you, too.” The words came out in a sob. “I love you so much.”
❧
Jimmy sent the carriage away and took the streetcar home. The clacking sound of the wooden seats and rickety-racketing of the wheels grated on his nerves. The jerking of the car, which he usually didn’t notice, caused his head to pound.
He had frozen at the sight of Sutton. And when the evil rascal dared to mention Danielle’s name, all Jimmy wanted to do was put his hands around the evil man’s neck and squeeze the life out of him. Had he ever been angry enough to willingly consider violence? He didn’t think so.
It was obvious Sutton had a plan that involved Jimmy and his sister. Jimmy knew the man well enough to know the plan wasn’t a benevolent one. He was set on revenge, and there was no telling what measure he would take to achieve his goal. Jimmy also hadn’t liked the way the man’s eyes had wandered over Cici.
And that was another thing. Why would Cici have asked Jimmy to take her to the theater when she knew her parents would not approve? What did that say about her character? Guilt bit at him at the thought. There was nothing wrong with Cici’s character. She was still very young. It was simply a girlish whim.
When he entered the house, his eyes wandered up the stairs. Should he wake Blake? Warn him about Sutton? But what good would it do to rob him of a night’s sleep? There was nothing Danni’s and his former captor could do here in their own home. He’d make sure he spoke to Blake in the morning and leave it up to him what to say to Danni.
He practically dragged himself up the stairs. He changed into his pajamas and robe then threw himself into a chair.
God, I don’t know what to do.
But his words seemed to fall like stones on the carpeted floor, muffled and going nowhere. How could he come to God when his conscience was stabbing him so? When the eyes of the tenement children haunted him? Their voices called to him when he slept.
He groaned and stepped to the window. Moonlight streamed in, enveloping the room in a ghostly aura. He jerked the curtains shut and climbed into bed. This should have been a day of delirious happiness for him and Cici. Instead, his whole world seemed to be caving in.
Fourteen
“Jimmy, when you complete your studies, you’ll need to begin studying for the bar right away. You’ll find everything you need here in my library and the one at the office.” Mr. Nelson sank into a leather armchair and motioned for Blake and Jimmy to do likewise.
“Thank you, sir.” His stomach sank, as it always did lately, at the mention of his career in law.
“What’s on your mind, son?” Mr. Nelson had an observant eye and little got by him.
Jimmy opened his mouth to deny anything was wrong, but the words wouldn’t come. He sighed. “I can’t stop thinking of the conditions in the slums by the river, especially around the Clark Street docks. I feel that I’ve deserted those people.”
Blake leaned forward. “But you’re still feeding the children from your own lunch pail every day as well as taking food to pass out on Saturdays.”
“I know, but it doesn’t seem near enough.”
“Are you reconsidering your decision to return to law school? I notice you’ve not made the arrangements yet.” Mr. Nelson stretched his feet and legs onto the leather ottoman.
“Jimmy?” Blake raised his eyebrows in question.
“I’m not sure. But I can’t get the poor tenement people off my mind.”
They spent an hour discussing the law firm and various pending cases, then talked about a recent fishing trip on which Blake and his father caught several large bass.
Finally, Mr. Nelson rose. “Katie will kill me if I keep you to myself any longer. We’d best join the women in the parlor. Tea sounds good anyway.”
Blake and Jimmy followed the older man from the room.
“Oh good. You’re here.” Mrs. Nelson crinkled her eyes and smiled at her husband, who bent and kissed her brow.
Jimmy glanced at Cici, who smiled and patted the cushion next to her on the sofa.
“Jimmy, I’m so glad you came today and brought Cecilia.” Mrs. Nelson smiled and turned to Cici. “He used to join us for Sunday dinner every week. But now”—she sent a teasing smile Cici’s way—“he seems to have other things to do.”
Jimmy grinned. “I’m sure we’ll be here more often now that we’re engaged. Cici will want to get to know you better.”
“And we certainly want to know this lovely young lady better. The girl who caught Jimmy’s heart.” Mr. Nelson grinned and winked at his wife. “Her hair is the exact same lovely color yours is.”
“Was, dear, was.” Mrs. Nelson smiled and, reaching up, patted his hand.
“Still every bit as lovely as ever.” He bent down to kiss her cheek, and as they gazed into each other’s eyes, it seemed to Jimmy as if they shared some secret.
He shook his head in wonder. After all these years, it was obvious that Blake’s parents were still very much in love.
After the men had seated themselves and received cups of tea, Mr. Nelson turned to his wife. “Katie, you know Jimmy has been feeding children down by the docks. Why don’t you tell him about your charitable work before the great fire?”
“All right.” Her clear blue eyes shone and she smiled at Jimmy. “Let me see, now where shall I begin?”
“How about the soup kitchen?” her husband coached her.
“Soup kitchen?” Surprise rose in Jimmy. “You worked in a soup kitchen?”
She nodded and her face became serious. “You see, there were many Irish immigrants in Chicago back then. Some, like my father, were accepted and respected. But a lot of people resented the poor folk who’d come over to escape the potato famine.”
“But why? Why in the world would anyone begrudge a safe harbor to people who were starving?”
She nodded. “Why indeed? You see, they came in droves, looking for employment. Many folks thought they were stealing jobs, and perhaps they were in a way, for they’d work for a pittance simply to put food on the table.” She sighed. “Shantytowns popped up all over the city. Tents and shacks. The largest and most notorious was Conley’s Patch. Have you ever heard of it?”
