Her new neighbors had kept her up most of the night with their cries for attention, and getting up at three in the morning had her even more tired than normal. A yawn filled her chest as she placed plates of pancakes in front of Mrs. Green and Miss Cornwell, two of her neighbors. She turned her head to release the yawn.
“Thank you,” Mrs. Green said tiredly between huge yawns. “I didn’t get a lick of sleep last night.”
“I know,” Miss Cornwell said, pouring honey over her pancakes. “Those babies cried almost the whole night. Disgraceful.”
Emily Jane should have walked away, but instead she turned to face the women and said, “They weren’t that bad.”
“No? Didn’t you hear them?” Mrs. Green asked, as her blue eyes searched Emily Jane’s.
“Yes, I heard them, but they were in a strange new place and were overtired. I’m sure they’ll settle down once they get used to their new home,” she answered, wiping down the table beside them.
“So he’s staying, then?” Miss Cornwell lifted the fork to her lips but waited for Emily Jane to answer.
“I don’t know.” Emily Jane didn’t want the women assuming she knew more about William Barns’s business than she should. Although she did wonder what he’d found out at the bank this morning.
The bell over the door jingled as three more ladies from her neighborhood entered the bakery, Mrs. Wells, Mrs. Harvey and Mrs. Orson. They hurried to where Mrs. Green and Miss Cornwell sat. Mrs. Harvey slipped into a chair at the table next to the other two women.
Mrs. Wells covered her mouth as a yawn overtook her. “Excuse me. I didn’t get a wink of sleep last night with all that crying.”
“We were just talking about that,” Mrs. Green said, leaning forward in her seat.
Mrs. Orson shook her head. “I don’t think anyone got any sleep last night. Mr. Orson paced the floor all night. It was very annoying. I’ll be glad when that man takes his children and moves on.”
Emily Jane decided to change the subject. “Ladies, what can I get you this morning?” she asked with a forced smile.
“Just coffee for me,” Mrs. Orson answered.
Mrs. Harvey smiled up at her. “Do you have any of those fruit-filled pastries?”
Emily Jane returned her smile. Fruit-filled pastry was one of the new items she’d suggested that the bakery start serving. “Yes, ma’am, we have apple and peach this morning.”
“I’d like to try the peach and a cup of your coffee.”
“I’ll have the same.” Mrs. Wells dropped into the chair opposite her friends. Her bulky figure pressed against the table as she leaned forward to continue the conversation Emily Jane had interrupted. “Has anyone learned if they are staying? Mabel was a friend of mine, but even she would have understood our reluctance to having crying children in our quiet neighborhood.”
Seldom did they ever agree upon anything, but it seemed lack of sleep had all five graying heads nodding in unison.
Emily Jane left them to their gossiping. Why did they have to be so mean? Rose and Ruby were children who had simply been overtired the night before. She placed the fruit pies on two small plates and poured two cups of coffee, then returned to the women’s table.
“What are we going to do, if he stays here?” Mrs. Orson demanded.
She set the plates and steaming cups in front of the women. “I really don’t think the girls will be that much trouble once they are settled.” Emily Jane straightened her spine and resisted the urge to yawn again. “You know, talking about Mr. Barns and his children like this isn’t very Christian-like, ladies.”
Mrs. Green huffed. “Well, if you like Mr. Barns and his screaming children so much, why don’t you marry the man and keep those kids quiet?”
Emily Jane stood there with her mouth hanging open. Were they serious? She...marry a man to keep his children quiet? She glanced about the table. The other four women nodded their heads in agreement.
“I am not the marrying kind, ladies. I have dreams of opening my own bakery someday, and those dreams do not include a man with two children.” She offered each of them a smile, before hurrying to the kitchen and away from their speculative looks.
A little while later, Emily Jane entered the front door of her home. She carried the box of baking supplies to the kitchen table. After talking to her neighbors, her thoughts had clung to what they’d said. She admitted to herself that they were right in that Rose and Ruby had cried most of the night. It amazed her that the girls’ voices had carried so clearly upon the still night air, keeping most everyone in the neighborhood awake. But the plain and simple fact of the matter was that she could do nothing about their unhappiness. She wondered briefly why that bothered her so much.
She emptied the box, placing each item on the kitchen table. Today she was going to try her hand at adding a new ingredient to her oatmeal raisin cookie recipe. One of the joys of her job was that Violet, the manager of the bakery, supplied the ingredients for her to bake up new recipes. In return, once the recipe was perfected, Emily Jane fixed it at the bakery. Customers seemed to love her new creations.
As she mixed the flour with the rest of the ingredients, Emily Jane’s thoughts drifted to the women. She’d been surprised at their suggestion that she marry William Barns. Did they really think that if she married him, then the girls would settle down? How rude of them.
Emily Jane stirred the mixture hard and fast. There was no way she’d marry William Barns. She had no intention of marrying anyone and definitely not a man with children. The girls did remind Emily Jane of her own sisters, but that was no reason to get married to a complete stranger, not that he’d asked her. She shook her head. No, she wasn’t getting married now or anytime soon; she had a dream of opening her own bakery someday, and that dream didn’t include a family or a man who might be like her father and think he could control everything she did.
William stood holding a niece on each hip. He stared at the group of five women, wondering if they had lost their minds. He could see one or even two of them being a little addled due to age, but all five?
“We’re not asking you to move away, at least not right now. All we’re asking is that you consider Miss Rodgers as a future bride. She could help you with the girls, and she really is a sweet little thing,” Mrs. Harvey said as the others nodded their agreement.
When the women had stopped him on the sidewalk in front of the bank and introduced themselves as his neighbors, he’d been happy to meet them; but now they were butting in where they didn’t belong, and he planned to put a stop to their meddling. “Look, ladies, I know you mean well, but I have no intentions of marrying Miss Rodgers or anyone else. Now if you will excuse me, I’m going home.” William thought they’d move to the side and let him pass.
He thought wrong.
Mrs. Orson put both hands on her chubby hips and demanded, “Why not? Those girls need a mama. If they had a mama, she’d know how to keep them quiet so a body could rest at night like God intended. Miss Rodgers
