“With all due respect, Mr. Bennett, I am not that young. Many men my age are already married, and I can say with certainty I will never love another girl the way I love Alice. She is unlike any other.” Wanting to convince the older man, John said, “If you would reconsider, and Alice will have me, I have planned for a long engagement while I finish medical school. I would write to her every single day and visit when I could. By the time we marry, some of the younger girls will be capable of running the household in her stead.”
Mr. Bennett nodded. “It sounds like you’ve thought this through, young man.” He stared into space, his mind elsewhere. “Oh, how I envy you, John. You’re in the prime of your life, just starting out, with so many years lying ahead. These are glorious days for you.” The older man’s eyes got misty, presumably thinking of his own youth.
“Are you saying I may propose to Alice after all? I would like to ask her the night of the Barn Dance.”
Mr. Bennett gave John his full attention. “You seem determined, and I give you credit for thinking this through. Yes, you have my blessing.”
John had replayed this conversation in his head so many times since then. Getting the approval of Alice’s father had seemed unlikely, so having Mr. Bennett’s blessing had been a gift dropped at his feet. It only got better from there.
When a customer had arrived at the mill, John had quickly added a last thought. “If she’ll have me, I promise to spend the rest of my days making Alice happy.”
In response, his future father-in-law said, “I have no doubt you will.”
Now, tonight, at the dance, John bided his time, waiting for the right opportunity to broach the subject. He’d imagined the dance to be a romantic place, and while dancing with Alice was wonderful, the hall was crowded and humid. Too many people and so much noise. He wanted to ask her to marry him when he had her undivided attention and there were no distractions. So far, he hadn’t encountered any such conditions.
If Pearl was not around, and if it were just the two of them, he could pull the wagon aside on the way home and ask her to marry him under the starry night sky, but of course, Alice’s father would not have allowed her to ride alone with a man unchaperoned. Maybe it would be different when they were engaged.
The evening wore on, the minutes building to hours, and John despaired of finding the perfect moment to propose. To make matters worse, while he and Alice stopped to rest and drink punch, some kind of fight broke out on one side of the hall, a young woman wailing and carrying on something terrible while other people clustered around. “Whatever is going on?” Alice asked, craning her neck to see.
“I don’t know, but it looks like Mrs. Donohue is involved somehow.” John could see the plump lady, hands on her hips, taking charge of the situation.
A few minutes later, Pearl wove her way across the hall to find John and Alice. She blurted out, “You won’t believe what just happened! Mrs. Donohue caught Lorraine Whitt kissing one of the Farber twins. Lorraine claimed she was just whispering in his ear, but there were other witnesses besides Mrs. Donohue who saw it plain as day. Lorraine can deny it all she wants, but everyone knows she did it.”
“Lorraine Whitt? But she’s Helen’s age,” Alice said, shocked. “Barely thirteen!”
Pearl’s eyes widened. “I know. Isn’t it outrageous? Kissing a boy she hardly knows. Right out in public too!”
“Poor Lorraine,” Alice said, watching as people left the dance floor to go witness the scene unfolding. Lorraine was still wailing as if she’d broken a leg; others were now chiming in to offer their opinions.
“Poor Lorraine?” Pearl spoke incredulously. “I don’t feel one bit sorry for her. She brought it upon herself.” She craned her neck to get a better look. “I can’t see much of anything from here. I’m going back.” Hastily, she turned and headed toward the turmoil.
Alice switched her attention to John, and a sudden look came across her face. “I’ve just had a thought,” she said, setting her punch glass down on the table. “Come with me.”
Without a word, he set his glass down as well and kept her in his sights as she worked her way toward the door. Because the ticket taker had left her station to see what the racket was all about, they were able to slip outside unnoticed.
The cooler air was a welcome relief after being in the stuffy barn for so long. “What are we doing out here?” John asked.
Smiling, Alice took his hand and led him down a path around the barn, away from where the wagons were parked. “I got tired of talking over the noise,” she said to him, calling back over her shoulder. “I wanted to have time with you before our evening is over.”