When he’d thoroughly investigated the entire house, he did a final walk-through, flipping on every light switch as he went. Kathleen would find out that her house had been broken into, but she’d never suspect him, not in a million years. He was adamant about turning off lights in unoccupied rooms. Keeping them on was wasteful.
Yes, she’d know someone had been in her house, and that would make her fearful. Just what he wanted.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
1916
Dear John,
I was very happy to get your letter, and happier still to read of your certainty in your feelings for me. As for me, I have felt myself drawn to you from the start. Is it possible to feel like you already know someone from the moment you’ve first met? If so, that is what I have found in you.
I find myself thinking about you during the day as I go about my work. You are the last thing I think of before I fall asleep. I count the hours until I can see you again. I thought I was happy before, and I was, but having you in my life has made me happier still in a way I never could have imagined. If this is love, then yes, I feel it too.
Yesterday, in the kitchen, you asked about the title and words of the song I was singing, but we were interrupted before I could explain. The song does not have a title. It is just a little ditty I made up to sing to Daisy. I often write little poems and put them to music. The words to this one go like this: Little, little darling child Sweetest flower, small and wild Fill me with your love and light All my days’ and nights’ delight Nothing will keep us apart You’re always there in my heart You are still my baby girl Dearest one in all the world It is silly, I know, but it pleases her and gives me something new to sing.
Father said that Frank came to the mill and caused quite a ruckus, saying he should fire you, but that they had a talk, and all is resolved now. Pearl is upset that Frank can’t come to the house to visit until after you have gone away, but that is not my concern.
I am already thinking about summer’s end, when you will go away. I do not think I can bear it. The days will seem so empty without you here. I hope you will be willing to write to me when you are away at school. I know you’ll be very busy, but hearing about your days would help to fill the loneliness of my own.
Yours,
Alice
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
1916
Dearest Alice, There was a time when I had wished this summer would go quickly, but now I would be content to have it last until the end of my days. Before I go to sleep at night, I take out my stack of letters from you and read them over and over again by the light of the kerosene lamp. So many letters, full of your ideas and thoughts, your hopes for the future, and your concerns about the war on the other side of the world, which I assure you will never reach the United States, so you need not worry any longer. The war cannot touch anyone here.
Please believe me when I say you are never dull, my dearest, and each word is etched into my memory. Your letters are what sustains me.
You asked a few weeks ago if we could continue writing after I am back at school. That was only a few weeks ago, but so much has changed in that time. It was then I had confessed my feelings to you, and you told me you felt the same way. I did not think it could get better than that, but now, to hear you call me sweetheart, your voice whispering the word in my ear when no one else is nearby, I know true happiness.
Yours forever, John
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
1916
In the Bennett kitchen one evening, John was mashing the potatoes on the counter next to the stove. Alice, who’d just finished basting the roast chicken, closed the oven door and began singing to Daisy, who sat in the corner, rocking her dolly. Her voice sang out, sweet and clear, “Little, little darling child, sweetest flower, small and wild.”
John smiled and opened his mouth, his baritone voice joining hers. Together they sang, “Fill me with your love and light. All my days’ and nights’ delight. Nothing will keep us apart. You’re always there in my heart.”
And Alice finished the last two lines: “You are still my baby girl. Dearest one in all the world.”
Daisy beamed the way she did every time Alice sang to her. She set down her dolly to clap when they were done, and John took a slight bow.
Mae and Maude sat at the kitchen table, snapping the ends off fresh green beans from the garden. Mae said, “I have never seen a man do women’s work like you do, John Lawrence. Pearl says men working in the kitchen is for sissy boys.”
John’s laugh filled the room. He said, “You can tell Pearl I don’t believe there’s women’s work and men’s work. Work is work. It needs to be done, and if everyone helps, it’s easier all around.”